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#21
Laid Back Lounge / Re: What's on your mind today?
Last post by Recusant - October 07, 2024, 05:47:59 AMBy all means batten down the hatches and take care, man. With best wishes, will be awaiting your next dispatch. Here's to the best of luck. 
#22
Laid Back Lounge / Re: What's on your mind today?
Last post by Icarus - October 07, 2024, 05:21:25 AMWhats on my mind today. A stupendous storm is headed directly toward my small city. I live about 45 miles inland (72 km) from the Florida's west central coast. The storm, at this time, is predicted to smash right into my area. It is deadly and it may have sustained winds of 140 MPH (or 225 Km per hour). That will destroy much of the infrastructure and all of the mobile homes, Many of the ordinary houses, electric utilities, and possibly water utilities.
The worst of it will be the storm surge that may bring a rise in the water level as much as twelve to fifteen feet above normal (3.6 to 4.5 meters). I will not suffer the devastation storm storm surge of water but the west coast will be smashed all to hell.
The storm will arrive in Florida late Wednesday or early Thursday. I have been through that kind of ordeal numerous times before because I have been a Florida resident for about 80 years. So I am prepared as best I can be.
This whole deal is because of those damned Mexicans and Guatamalans. (Trump will blame it on them) There is weather phenomena called the CAG or Central American Gyre. It is a system of rotating air and water that is prevalent around the Yucutan peninsula. The gyre often creates rotating atmospheric conditions. If the system moves out into the Gulf of Mexico the warm water increases the rotation and wind strengths over a long fetch across the Gulf. The upper atmosphere with it's high and low pressure systems tend to steer the storms. We call them hurricanes when the wind velocity reaches 72 MPH. It is then a category one storm. As it moves across the warm Gulf waters, currently 85F, the velocities increase into category two, three, four and end of the world fives..
I may not annoy my fellow HAFers for a few days after the storm rips up this part of Florida.....that is if I am still alive, which I hope that I will be.
The worst of it will be the storm surge that may bring a rise in the water level as much as twelve to fifteen feet above normal (3.6 to 4.5 meters). I will not suffer the devastation storm storm surge of water but the west coast will be smashed all to hell.
The storm will arrive in Florida late Wednesday or early Thursday. I have been through that kind of ordeal numerous times before because I have been a Florida resident for about 80 years. So I am prepared as best I can be.
This whole deal is because of those damned Mexicans and Guatamalans. (Trump will blame it on them) There is weather phenomena called the CAG or Central American Gyre. It is a system of rotating air and water that is prevalent around the Yucutan peninsula. The gyre often creates rotating atmospheric conditions. If the system moves out into the Gulf of Mexico the warm water increases the rotation and wind strengths over a long fetch across the Gulf. The upper atmosphere with it's high and low pressure systems tend to steer the storms. We call them hurricanes when the wind velocity reaches 72 MPH. It is then a category one storm. As it moves across the warm Gulf waters, currently 85F, the velocities increase into category two, three, four and end of the world fives..
I may not annoy my fellow HAFers for a few days after the storm rips up this part of Florida.....that is if I am still alive, which I hope that I will be.
#23
Politics / Re: Dominionists in the United...
Last post by Recusant - October 07, 2024, 05:08:11 AMThis post could go in the putrid mountebank thread, but it's really about the nature of his cult. In my opinion Dominionism has always had the stink of the prosperity gospel permeating it. That is, if you're successful in exerting dominion over family, religion, education, media, arts and entertainment, business, and government ("all in God's name" of course) then naturally you'll be wealthy beyond your dreams. On the other hand "God helps those who help themselves."
A state in the US requires by law that Bibles will be placed in every classroom (grades 1-12) in the state. Specifications for those Bibles which were apparently created by something called the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services are only filled by the Trump Bible and one other on the market, That one is "endorsed" by Junior.
Giving credit to a headline editor for once, I like the title from the place where I found this item ("Holy Grift! Trump Bibles Miraculously an Exact Match for Oklahoma Public Schools Mandate" | Common Dreams) but they're mainly citing another source:
"State Education Department Seeks Bids for 55,000 Classroom Bibles" | Oklahoma Watch
But, eh, Harris is a DEI hire! Never actually worked at McDonalds! etc.
A state in the US requires by law that Bibles will be placed in every classroom (grades 1-12) in the state. Specifications for those Bibles which were apparently created by something called the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services are only filled by the Trump Bible and one other on the market, That one is "endorsed" by Junior.
Giving credit to a headline editor for once, I like the title from the place where I found this item ("Holy Grift! Trump Bibles Miraculously an Exact Match for Oklahoma Public Schools Mandate" | Common Dreams) but they're mainly citing another source:
"State Education Department Seeks Bids for 55,000 Classroom Bibles" | Oklahoma Watch
QuoteSuperintendent Ryan Walters isn't just talking about buying Bibles for schools.
Bids opened Monday for a contract to supply the state Department of Education with 55,000 Bibles. According to the bid documents, vendors must meet certain specifications: Bibles must be the King James Version; must contain the Old and New Testaments; must include copies of the Pledge of Allegiance, Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights; and must be bound in leather or leather-like material.
A salesperson at Mardel Christian & Education searched, and though they carry 2,900 Bibles, none fit the parameters.
But one Bible fits perfectly: Lee Greenwood's God Bless the U.S.A. Bible, endorsed by former President Donald Trump and commonly referred to as the Trump Bible. They cost $60 each online, with Trump receiving fees for his endorsement.
Mardel doesn't carry the God Bless the U.S.A. Bible or another Bible that could meet the specifications, the We The People Bible, which was endorsed by Donald Trump Jr. It sells for $90.
[Continues . . .]
But, eh, Harris is a DEI hire! Never actually worked at McDonalds! etc.
#24
Science / Re: All things brain...
Last post by Recusant - October 06, 2024, 10:16:41 PMQuote from: The Magic Pudding.. on April 24, 2024, 01:22:43 PMQuote from: Recusant on April 23, 2024, 11:37:08 PMI'll probably remember this item, damage be damned. Featuring the hippocampus again.
I'll try not to, or no more than the gist of the gist.
I think I can use it to advantage.
You said we'd travel when we had more time, how about Europe in May?
Do you realise the damage a trip like that would do to our hippocampuses?
Oh well, there's a new TV series that sounds good.
Hippocampuses.
Detectorists again?
These Green dialogs age well.
#25
Science / Re: All things brain...
Last post by Recusant - October 06, 2024, 10:14:40 PMStill on the hippocampus trail. One recalls a neuroscientist in who's work the hippocampus features. 
"How the human hippocampus contributes to value-based decision-making under uncertainty" | Medical Express
The paper is open access:
"The role of the human hippocampus in decision-making under uncertainty" | Nature Human Behavior
"How the human hippocampus contributes to value-based decision-making under uncertainty" | Medical Express
QuoteValue-based decision-making is the process through which humans choose between options associated with different costs or efforts, as well as rewards. These choices include, for instance, selecting different products at the grocery stores or making substantial lifestyle changes to accomplish a specific goal.
Past studies on animals have found that the hippocampus, a key brain region associated with learning and memory, could play a role in the processing and evaluation of rewards, which is thought to also occur during value-based decision-making. In addition, research on humans has linked the hippocampus to memory, associative learning and imagination, which could also be connected to value-based decision-making.
Researchers at University of Oxford have recently been investigating the role of this brain region in the valuation and selection of different options. In one study involving individuals with cognitive impairments, they found that the hippocampus could support the active gathering of information that precedes value-based decisions in situations where outcomes are uncertain.
Their latest paper, published in Nature Human Behaviour, built on these findings to further explore how the hippocampus contributes to human decision-making under uncertainty. In this new work, they specifically examined how individuals with a neurological condition affecting the hippocampus decided between different options associated with varying rewards.
"The role of the hippocampus in decision-making is beginning to be more understood," Bahaaeddin Attaallah, Pierre Petitet and their colleagues wrote in their paper.
"Because of its prospective and inferential functions, we hypothesized that it might be required specifically when decisions involve the evaluation of uncertain values. A group of individuals with autoimmune limbic encephalitis (ALE)—a condition known to focally affect the hippocampus—were tested on how they evaluate reward against uncertainty compared to reward against another key attribute: physical effort."
[. . .]
Attaallah, Petitet and their colleagues found that patients diagnosed with ALE were sensitive to uncertainty, yet they were less sensitive to information related to changes in reward values and effort. Their study gathered evidence suggesting that the hippocampus has a context-sensitive role in value-based decision-making, which is specifically relevant under conditions of uncertainty and influences how they evaluate the rewards and efforts linked with different options.
[Continues . . .]
The paper is open access:
"The role of the human hippocampus in decision-making under uncertainty" | Nature Human Behavior
QuoteAbstract:
The role of the hippocampus in decision-making is beginning to be more understood. Because of its prospective and inferential functions, we hypothesized that it might be required specifically when decisions involve the evaluation of uncertain values.
A group of individuals with autoimmune limbic encephalitis—a condition known to focally affect the hippocampus—were tested on how they evaluate reward against uncertainty compared to reward against another key attribute: physical effort.
Across four experiments requiring participants to make trade-offs between reward, uncertainty and effort, patients with acute limbic encephalitis demonstrated blunted sensitivity to reward and effort whenever uncertainty was considered, despite demonstrating intact uncertainty sensitivity. By contrast, the valuation of these two attributes (reward and effort) was intact on uncertainty-free tasks. Reduced sensitivity to changes in reward under uncertainty correlated with the severity of hippocampal damage. Together, these findings provide evidence for a context-sensitive role of the hippocampus in value-based decision-making, apparent specifically under conditions of uncertainty.
#26
Laid Back Lounge / Re: Doesn't fit under any othe...
Last post by Recusant - October 06, 2024, 09:40:12 PM #27
Laid Back Lounge / Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Last post by billy rubin - October 06, 2024, 09:14:30 PMtherapy today. ive been stressed, so i went out to the shop and picked up the spanners.
ive had issues with a 1969 BSA with low oil pressure. these old nails can develop pressure problems from a bad pressure relief valve, a bad oil pump, worn rod bearings, or a worn timing side crankshaft bushing.
i just got it running a while back, took it out and warmed it up seriously hot for the first time, and when i got home the oil pressure light was on.
what?
so i put on a gauge, and it was only 13 psi. should have been around 30. 13 psi will kill the motor.
so i rebuilt the oil pressure relief valve, re-threaded the cavity with epoxy to seal up the threads, took the oil pump out and rebuilt it too.
stuck a feeler gauge under the crank bushing and was able to get a 0.003 in there. not 0.004, which is good, because 0.005 is rebuild time.
that was several weeks ago, but ive been busy. today i finally put the inner timing cover on. connected the clutch, and discovered that i had the wrong inner timing cover gasket- no holes for two cover dowels. dont know what year those showed up, but the gasket was good otherwise.
fixed it with rapid scissor surgery while the wellseal was drying, and got the inner cover on, with its eight recessed screws. got the shifter mechanism in place, which is always fussy, and then tried for thirty minutes to put the stupid kickstart return spring retainer plate on.
this is an incredibly awkward securing method for the kickstart spring, and reminds me why i prefer to work on triumphs. i eventually accepted defeat before i broke something, and left it until tomorrow.
once its in, and i have the outer timing cover on, ill fill with fresh oil, set the ignition, and start the pig up. if i have decent oil pressure, im done. if the oil pressure is still too low, then it will be time to pull the crank. but not today. ill set the machine aside while i work on other machines that need attention.
it wont be fixed, but all the pieces will be in place, so nothing will be lost. and ill have to come up with a new gasket set anyway.
still to work on before the snow flies are the buell, the ninja, the LSR, and the sidecar tug. if i get crazy ahead, ill take another stab at the 441 victor.
but my old 1972 T120 just motors on, and lets me ride something sane and easy on the remaining good days of the year while the others require nursemaiding. i recently took off the 34mm carburetters ive been running for about ten years and put on some 32 mm instruments ive had for a while. excellent result, as the flat spot off-idle is gone and the machine runs well at slow speeds again. ill do some work on the 34s and then put them back in, as i want the 32s for the sidecar tug.
cheers!
ive had issues with a 1969 BSA with low oil pressure. these old nails can develop pressure problems from a bad pressure relief valve, a bad oil pump, worn rod bearings, or a worn timing side crankshaft bushing.
i just got it running a while back, took it out and warmed it up seriously hot for the first time, and when i got home the oil pressure light was on.
what?
so i put on a gauge, and it was only 13 psi. should have been around 30. 13 psi will kill the motor.
so i rebuilt the oil pressure relief valve, re-threaded the cavity with epoxy to seal up the threads, took the oil pump out and rebuilt it too.
stuck a feeler gauge under the crank bushing and was able to get a 0.003 in there. not 0.004, which is good, because 0.005 is rebuild time.
that was several weeks ago, but ive been busy. today i finally put the inner timing cover on. connected the clutch, and discovered that i had the wrong inner timing cover gasket- no holes for two cover dowels. dont know what year those showed up, but the gasket was good otherwise.
fixed it with rapid scissor surgery while the wellseal was drying, and got the inner cover on, with its eight recessed screws. got the shifter mechanism in place, which is always fussy, and then tried for thirty minutes to put the stupid kickstart return spring retainer plate on.
this is an incredibly awkward securing method for the kickstart spring, and reminds me why i prefer to work on triumphs. i eventually accepted defeat before i broke something, and left it until tomorrow.
once its in, and i have the outer timing cover on, ill fill with fresh oil, set the ignition, and start the pig up. if i have decent oil pressure, im done. if the oil pressure is still too low, then it will be time to pull the crank. but not today. ill set the machine aside while i work on other machines that need attention.
it wont be fixed, but all the pieces will be in place, so nothing will be lost. and ill have to come up with a new gasket set anyway.
still to work on before the snow flies are the buell, the ninja, the LSR, and the sidecar tug. if i get crazy ahead, ill take another stab at the 441 victor.
but my old 1972 T120 just motors on, and lets me ride something sane and easy on the remaining good days of the year while the others require nursemaiding. i recently took off the 34mm carburetters ive been running for about ten years and put on some 32 mm instruments ive had for a while. excellent result, as the flat spot off-idle is gone and the machine runs well at slow speeds again. ill do some work on the 34s and then put them back in, as i want the 32s for the sidecar tug.
cheers!
#28
Laid Back Lounge / Re: animals in your life
Last post by billy rubin - October 06, 2024, 08:53:57 PMthe season is turning. most of the insectivorous birds have moved south. theres still a cacaphony of crickets at night if the temperature is high enough. last night it was about 45, and when i got up at 0500 in the dark they were silent.
i look up at the planets in the morning, too, to check on their motion. mars is currently visible just east of castor and pollux, slowly moving along the ecliptic. a few months ago it was superimposed over jupiter every morning, but they have rapidly separated and jupiter is now much farther west, all by itself.
this morning there were song sparrows, red wing blackbirds, and i disturbed a northern mocking bird too.
i couldnt figure the mocking bird out when i first heard it. its late for them to be moving south, and i thought i was listening to a flock of starlings. but it was a mockingbird, one from so far north that i didnt recognize any of the songs it was mimicing. the hummingbirds are two weeks gone. no kingbirds or flycathcers, and i havent see a goldfinch for a week now.
but the coyotes sing every night and morning, and the vultures flock every day.
i look up at the planets in the morning, too, to check on their motion. mars is currently visible just east of castor and pollux, slowly moving along the ecliptic. a few months ago it was superimposed over jupiter every morning, but they have rapidly separated and jupiter is now much farther west, all by itself.
this morning there were song sparrows, red wing blackbirds, and i disturbed a northern mocking bird too.
i couldnt figure the mocking bird out when i first heard it. its late for them to be moving south, and i thought i was listening to a flock of starlings. but it was a mockingbird, one from so far north that i didnt recognize any of the songs it was mimicing. the hummingbirds are two weeks gone. no kingbirds or flycathcers, and i havent see a goldfinch for a week now.
but the coyotes sing every night and morning, and the vultures flock every day.
#29
Science / Re: Reports on the Annals of t...
Last post by Recusant - October 06, 2024, 04:30:40 PMI've come across a few examples of karst but probably the most striking karst landscape I've seen is the limestone pavement of the Burren in Ireland. There are more spectacular examples (like the one in Western Australia described below) but I haven't been lucky enough to visit them.
"Limestone and iron reveal puzzling extreme rain in Western Australia 100,000 years ago" | The Conversation
The paper is open access:
"Ironing out complexities in karst chronology: (U-Th)/He ferricrete ages reveal wet MIS 5c" | Science Advances
"Limestone and iron reveal puzzling extreme rain in Western Australia 100,000 years ago" | The Conversation
QuoteAlmost one-sixth of Earth's land surface is covered in otherworldly landscapes with a name that may also be unfamiliar: karst. These landscapes are like natural sculpture parks, with dramatic terrain dotted with caves and towers of bedrock slowly sculpted by water over thousands of years.
Karst landscapes are beautiful and ecologically important. They also represent a record of Earth's past temperature and moisture levels.
However, it can be quite challenging to figure out exactly when karst landscapes formed. In our new work published today in Science Advances, we show a new way to find the age of these enigmatic landscapes, which will help us understand our planet's past in more detail.
[. . .]
In our study, we found a way to measure the age of pebble-sized iron nodules that formed at the same time as a karst landscape.
This method has the technical name of (U/Th)-He geochronology. In it, we measure how much helium is produced by the natural radioactive decay of tiny amounts of the elements uranium and thorium in the iron nodules. By comparing the amounts of uranium, thorium and helium in a sample, we can very accurately calculate the age of the nodules.
We dated microscopic fragments of iron-rich nodules from the iconic Pinnacles Desert in Nambung National Park, Western Australia.
This world-famous site is renowned for its otherworldly karst landscape of acres of limestone pillars towering metres above a sandy desert plain. The Pinnacles form part of the most extensive belt of wind-blown carbonate rock in the world, stretching more than 1,000km along coastal southwestern WA.
[. . .]
We consistently found an age of around 100,000 years for the growth of the iron nodules. This date is supported by known ages from the rocks above and beneath the karst surface, proving the reliability of our new approach.
At the same time as chemical reactions caused growth of the iron-rich nodules within the ancient soil, limestone bedrock was rapidly and extensively dissolved to leave only remnant limestone pinnacles seen today.
[Continues . . .]
The paper is open access:
"Ironing out complexities in karst chronology: (U-Th)/He ferricrete ages reveal wet MIS 5c" | Science Advances
QuoteAbstract:
Karst landforms provide insights into landscape evolution and paleoclimate but are inherently challenging to date. An ancient interval of particularly intense weathering of Western Australian Pleistocene aeolianites is recorded in a spectacular pinnacle karst landscape with associated ferricrete nodules. (U-Th)/He dating of the ferricrete nodules revealed an age of 102.8 + 10.6/−11.4 thousand years, corresponding to marine isotope stage 5c.
The (U-Th)/He age thus directly dates the wettest interglacial period in the region over the last 500 thousand years, which was responsible for the dissolution that formed the pinnacles. The reliability of the ferricrete (U-Th)/He age is supported by bounding optically stimulated luminescence and U-Th dates on associated aeolianites and carbonate precipitates, respectively.
A (U-Th)/He approach is globally applicable to aeolianites with associated ferricretes, allowing more accurate dating of the environmental changes affecting these lithologies, and temporally constraining rapid Pleistocene climatic oscillations to better contextualize the associated evolution of the biosphere.
#30
Laid Back Lounge / Re: Doesn't fit under any othe...
Last post by Icarus - October 06, 2024, 04:53:46 AMThis is from an article at Religion Dispatches.org I found it in the RD archives. While searching I uncovered an article from a different source that claimed quite the opposite. I believe that the latter was referring to European society, while the RD article was referring to American society.
https://religiondispatches.org/the-overwhelming-whiteness-and-increasing-maleness-of-u-s-churches-isnt-an-accident-its-a-selling-point/
https://religiondispatches.org/the-overwhelming-whiteness-and-increasing-maleness-of-u-s-churches-isnt-an-accident-its-a-selling-point/