47 replies to this topic

[mthornton]

Occasionally I learn some new tidbit of useful (to me) information that is utterly useless to almost everyone else on the planet, and therefore I must share it. I love the blank looks in the lunchroom.

My current home project is a very precise event logger, using a very accurate & somewhat high-resolution RTC (Real Time Clock). In the course of reading the NXP manual for the RTC chip, I learn...

A leap year (or intercalary year) is a year containing one extra day in order to keep the
calendar year synchronized with the astronomical or seasonal year. Adding an extra day
to the calendar every four years compensates for the fact that a solar year is almost six
hours longer than 365 days. However, the duration of a solar year is slightly less than
365.25 days and therefore some exceptions to this rule are required. Years that are
evenly divisible by 100 are not leap years unless they are also evenly divisible by 400.
For example, 1600 and 2000 were leap years, but 2100, 2200 and 2300 will not be.

damn!
Emax, what have ya got?

[Emax]

mthornton, on 15 October 2011 - 05:58 PM, said:

Occasionally I learn some new tidbit of useful (to me) information that is utterly useless to almost everyone else on the planet, and therefore I must share it. I love the blank looks in the lunchroom.

My current home project is a very precise event logger, using a very accurate & somewhat high-resolution RTC (Real Time Clock). In the course of reading the NXP manual for the RTC chip, I learn...

A leap year (or intercalary year) is a year containing one extra day in order to keep the
calendar year synchronized with the astronomical or seasonal year. Adding an extra day
to the calendar every four years compensates for the fact that a solar year is almost six
hours longer than 365 days. However, the duration of a solar year is slightly less than
365.25 days and therefore some exceptions to this rule are required. Years that are
evenly divisible by 100 are not leap years unless they are also evenly divisible by 400.
For example, 1600 and 2000 were leap years, but 2100, 2200 and 2300 will not be.

damn!
Emax, what have ya got?

Damn, Mitch - I'm speechless!

[Don Coyote®]

That's still not nearly as complicated as your average Woman.




.....Just smile and nod and say..."Yes Dear".

[Emax]

Hey Mitch - it may be yet more complicated. I'm not so sure that the orbital period is an unchanging constant.

I recall sharing several such details with you during your recent visit - details that the world in general would consider inconsequential, but which affect many things that we use and do every day.

Never minimize the details. Though the devil is in there, so is the solution.

[Emax]

Don Coyote®, on 16 October 2011 - 06:00 PM, said:

That's still not nearly as complicated as your average Woman.




.....Just smile and nod and say..."Yes Dear".

Why do you do this?

[2milehi]

Have you figured out how to anticipate when congress will change day light savings in the near future?

Also leap seconds are added/subtracted to atomic clocks. -> http://en.wikipedia....iki/Leap_second

[Don Coyote®]

Emax, on 17 October 2011 - 04:14 AM, said:

Why do you do this?

For giggles.




..... Don't you ever giggle?



Do you even know how?

[Emax]

Don Coyote®, on 17 October 2011 - 02:43 PM, said:

For giggles.




..... Don't you ever giggle?



Do you even know how?

Of course, Sunshine, but you'll never know just when. I imagine that you miss most of what you're exposed to.

[mthornton]

2milehi, on 17 October 2011 - 10:28 AM, said:

1) Have you figured out how to anticipate when congress will change day light savings in the near future?
2) Also leap seconds are added/subtracted to atomic clocks. -> http://en.wikipedia....iki/Leap_second

1) Someone may need to come up with an automatic weather sensor that can measure the political climate, so then we can program our clocks appropriately.

2) More great info, although I am somewhat disappointed. I now know that my event logger will miss a second every few years or so. I hope this doesn't concur with an event!

[Emax]

mthornton, on 18 October 2011 - 04:31 AM, said:

1) Someone may need to come up with an automatic weather sensor that can measure the political climate, so then we can program our clocks appropriately.

2) More great info, although I am somewhat disappointed. I now know that my event logger will miss a second every few years or so. I hope this doesn't concur with an event!

If it does, you can bet that some lawyer will latch on to it.

[skier691]

• 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

[Emax]

skier691, on 18 October 2011 - 04:51 PM, said:

• 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

A while back, I received an e-mail that contained several math tricks like this. Gotta' wonder if there's a use for such things.

[Emax]

Don Coyote®, on 16 October 2011 - 06:00 PM, said:

That's still not nearly as complicated as your average Woman.




.....Just smile and nod and say..."Yes Dear".

Hey Mike (or Don)

Your goat avatar looks abnormally pleased - either that or it's wincing. Maybe both? Hmm.

Here in Utah, it's the odd sheep that look like this. Seems like a goat would be quite a handful!

[Emax]

 Utah.jpg (166.12K)
Number of downloads: 40

[Don Coyote®]

Emax, on 19 October 2011 - 05:17 AM, said:

Hey Mike (or Don)

Your goat avatar looks abnormally pleased - either that or it's wincing. Maybe both? Hmm.

Here in Utah, it's the odd sheep that look like this. Seems like a goat would be quite a handful!

Um,... whatever she told you.....it wasn't me

[mthornton]

skier691, on 18 October 2011 - 04:51 PM, said:

• 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

1 x 1 = 1
11 x 11 = 121
111 x 111 = 12321
1111 x 1111 = 1234321
11111x11111 = 123454321
seeing a pattern here?

That sheep looks suspiciously like a rent-a-sheep, typical of what one might rent for a stag party. And with the nice hair, she's almost irresistible!

11x111 = 1221
11x1111 = 12221
11x11111 = 122221
and
111x1111 = 123321
111x11111 = 1233321
this sort of pattern goes on forever, but the sheep is more useful.

[Kicking Horse]

My submission for today...


Too big to fail?


The Roman Empire did not fall in a battle of war. There was no single big clash of arms that drove it to its knees. It was corroded from the inside. At one stage, the wealthy held so much gold coins that there was not enough currency to keep services to the public going. By keeping the money to themselves the wealthy had simply run the nation into the ground.
History is strewn with such examples. Has this now happened to the United States? Or is the US too big to fail?

Anyone see a pattern here?

This post has been edited by Kicking Horse: 21 October 2011 - 06:29 PM

[Razvan]

The Omega Speedmaster wristwatch was and is worn (not exclusively) by both Soviet/Russian cosmonauts and US astronauts.
(It's the only analog watch I'd wear if I could come around one)

[Don Coyote®]

mthornton, on 21 October 2011 - 05:23 PM, said:

.....That sheep looks suspiciously like a rent-a-sheep, typical of what one might rent for a stag party. And with the nice hair, she's almost irresistible!

Stop it! ..... It was ONE DANCE!!! It meant NOTHING!!!


.....(And the fishnet stockings were HER idea!!!

[2milehi]

Razvan, on 22 October 2011 - 12:47 PM, said:

The Omega Speedmaster wristwatch was and is worn (not exclusively) by both Soviet/Russian cosmonauts and US astronauts.
(It's the only analog watch I'd wear if I could come around one)

To be an astronaut don't you need a vehicle that will get you into space?