Millihelens etc - 06/02/04 06:50 AM
Re: Millihelens etc - 06/02/04 09:24 AM
hehe. thanks for the laugh, Bing.
sound made by a durk...
sound made by a durk...
Re: Millihelens etc - 06/03/04 01:46 AM
Oh my gosh, that place is hilarious! Some of the definitions made me laugh out loud. Also check out the pictures (and their labels) on this page. Pay particular attention to the name next to the "apple half".
http://www.besse.at/sms/universe.html
http://www.besse.at/sms/universe.html
Science Made Stupid - 06/03/04 03:52 AM
Heard about "millihelens" in 1958! That's what I get for being a dinosaur.
The whole site is full of funnies, some more than others. Did you realize that the whole thing is an ad for a humorous book? Here's the Introduction page, where it is made clear: http://www.besse.at/sms/smsintro.html .
It's reminsicent of "It All Started With Columbus," (Richard Armour; American "history") and "1066 and All That" (Sellar, Reatman, Muir, and Yeatman, English "history") , which you might also enjoy if you can find them, probably in your public library by now as I suspect they're long out of print. Or eBay, or maybe even Amazon.com.
The whole site is full of funnies, some more than others. Did you realize that the whole thing is an ad for a humorous book? Here's the Introduction page, where it is made clear: http://www.besse.at/sms/smsintro.html .
It's reminsicent of "It All Started With Columbus," (Richard Armour; American "history") and "1066 and All That" (Sellar, Reatman, Muir, and Yeatman, English "history") , which you might also enjoy if you can find them, probably in your public library by now as I suspect they're long out of print. Or eBay, or maybe even Amazon.com.
1066 and all that - 06/03/04 11:49 AM
It's still so very poular over here that it is still being reprinted. Amazing, when you consider that it was first published in the 1930s (which is why it ends at the First World War.)
Re: Science Made Stupid - 06/03/04 07:00 PM
Did you get millihelens from Asimov? That's where I remember it from, in a discussion of beauty or some such. Ol' Isaac was a tremendously prolific writer, and wrote on a remarkably wide range of topics. And a great atheist. (I threw that in, gratuitously...)
cheer
the sunshine warrior
cheer
the sunshine warrior
Re: Millihelens etc - 06/04/04 12:23 PM
unit of power : watt - I said, unit of power : watt - I SAID . . .
ERG!
ERG!
Re: Science Made Stupid - 06/04/04 08:50 PM
Did you get millihelens from Asimov?
I got it from a college roommate, and I have no idea where he got it from. Certainly could have been Asimov, as he was familiar with Asimov's work, and I never asked him for a source. Then again, I was familiar with Asimov's work too, even when the Foundation series first came out as novelettes, and I don't recall seeing it there, then or later.
Edit: a quick Googling of Asimov/milliHelen gives a bunch of attributions to IA but in my brief review I see no documentation or reference. Even if there were, I would think it a good candidate for being a clever and appealing term with multiple independent inventors.
I got it from a college roommate, and I have no idea where he got it from. Certainly could have been Asimov, as he was familiar with Asimov's work, and I never asked him for a source. Then again, I was familiar with Asimov's work too, even when the Foundation series first came out as novelettes, and I don't recall seeing it there, then or later.
Edit: a quick Googling of Asimov/milliHelen gives a bunch of attributions to IA but in my brief review I see no documentation or reference. Even if there were, I would think it a good candidate for being a clever and appealing term with multiple independent inventors.
ERG! - 06/04/04 10:20 PM
Don't cross-thread your connections there, TEd, you might come up shorted.
Re: ERG! - 06/05/04 03:00 PM
Can we leave the electrical puns out, please? Even if only far a day.
Re: ERG! - 06/05/04 03:03 PM
th..tha...that...that's all volts...
Re: ERG! - 06/05/04 04:34 PM
Ah, Bugs Bunny! I have the capacitance to remember that but lack the resistance not to mention it ...
volte-face! - 06/05/04 05:01 PM
my grandchildren will probably all have pigtails for my mentioning this, but that wasn't Bugs Bunny.
Re: volte-face! - 06/05/04 05:20 PM
ah, tsuwm, no one would say you're an old fuddy-duddy...
Re: volte-face! - 06/05/04 05:24 PM
Bingley thanks for the link, it is hilarious. I'm printing out the pages so my son can bring it to school (he's in advanced bio-chem at University and working at school this summer to get the grist for his Master's).
Re: Roche's limit - 06/05/04 06:08 PM
Roche's limit : three bears
I suppose that's meant to be three beers..
Every night, Frank would go down to the liquor store, get a six-pack, bring it home, and drink it while he watched TV. One night, as he finished his last beer, the doorbell rang. He stumbled to the door and found a six-foot cockroach standing there. The bug grabbed him by the collar and threw him across the room, then left.
The next night, after he finished his 3rd beer, the doorbell rang. He walked slowly to the door and found the same six-foot cockroach standing there. The big bug punched him in the stomach, then left.
The next night, after he finished his 1st beer, the doorbell rang again. The same six-foot cockroach was standing there. This time he was knee'd in the stomach and hit behind the ear as he doubled over in pain. Then the creature left.
The fourth night, Frank didn't drink at all. The doorbell rang. The six-foot cockroach was standing there. The bug proceeded to beat the daylights out of Frank, and left him in a heap on the living room floor.
The following day, Frank went to see his doctor. He explained the events of the preceding four nights. "What can I do?" he pleaded.
"Not much," answered the doctor. "There's a really nasty bug going around."
I suppose that's meant to be three beers..
Every night, Frank would go down to the liquor store, get a six-pack, bring it home, and drink it while he watched TV. One night, as he finished his last beer, the doorbell rang. He stumbled to the door and found a six-foot cockroach standing there. The bug grabbed him by the collar and threw him across the room, then left.
The next night, after he finished his 3rd beer, the doorbell rang. He walked slowly to the door and found the same six-foot cockroach standing there. The big bug punched him in the stomach, then left.
The next night, after he finished his 1st beer, the doorbell rang again. The same six-foot cockroach was standing there. This time he was knee'd in the stomach and hit behind the ear as he doubled over in pain. Then the creature left.
The fourth night, Frank didn't drink at all. The doorbell rang. The six-foot cockroach was standing there. The bug proceeded to beat the daylights out of Frank, and left him in a heap on the living room floor.
The following day, Frank went to see his doctor. He explained the events of the preceding four nights. "What can I do?" he pleaded.
"Not much," answered the doctor. "There's a really nasty bug going around."