What's making you happy today? - Page 346

Shawnee123 · 03-24-2010, 08:03 AM

Wow Ali. That is a wonderful story. Thanks for that.

Trilby · 03-24-2010, 08:40 AM

Going to Columbus to see my son!

We're going to lunch and then to see Alice. (He wants to see Alice, but he doesn't want to admit it - so he goes with me)

skysidhe · 03-24-2010, 10:25 AM

good times bri

and a great story ali

Spring is here! Through my partially open window the birds are singing. It's quiet and all is good right here right now.

Clodfobble · 03-24-2010, 11:37 AM

That's beautiful Ali.

Sundae · 03-24-2010, 11:44 AM

Thanks Ali, what a great experience - and well done you.
Bri - hope you have a marvellous time. Alice?

Diz won't leave my side today.
It's lovely.
He has me all to himself until Friday, when I'm back at school.

glatt · 03-24-2010, 12:00 PM

Ali, it's great that you knew what to do and were in a position to do it. Good job.

DanaC · 03-24-2010, 12:23 PM

I got the shake-up I needed :P An email from uni asking if i wanted to apply for PhD study and informing of the 31st march deadline on all applications!

That's kind of brought it home to me that this year is speeding by. I need to up my workrate. At same time, rather fortuitously, I have broken through a really bad bout of writer's block/lazy inability to make myself work and done a decent amount of work this week.

I am feeling quite upbeat about this thesis. I am very excited at the prospect of a PhD. Can't wait to get this MA done and dusted now.

classicman · 03-24-2010, 04:50 PM

Dr. Dana - thats haz an expensive ring to it. Does that mean we'll have to pay for your posts?

Sundae · 03-24-2010, 05:07 PM

I smell so good.
That is all.

Pie · 03-24-2010, 06:11 PM

After Ali's post, this seems rather trivial -- but I measured a 3.5 dB noise figure today...

(Good for you, Ali! And I'm looking forward to 'Dr. Dana' hehee!)

Aliantha · 03-24-2010, 07:18 PM

You know, I only did what I could which really wasn't all that much and I'd think only what anyone else would do if they had the knowledge.

We see a lot of people off the road in the cane fields around here. Partly because the road is very windy, but also because there are a lot of idiots on the road who do stupid things. We always stop to make sure everyone's ok and every other time they've been fine. Just waiting for a tow out of the paddock. I like to think that if I were in trouble someone would help me. Karma I guess. What goes around comes around. Building up a bit of credit for the future or something like that.

I don't need thanks from this man or his family, but I'm happy to be thankful with them. I know there are many more people who would do and feel the same as I do, and that's something else to be thankful about in this world.

Tulip · 03-25-2010, 12:02 AM

Aliantha: Thanks for the story. It's good to hear there are still good people in the world. Oh, I know there are good people around, we just don't hear enough about them.

glatt · 03-25-2010, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pie

I measured a 3.5 dB noise figure today...

I don't know what that means. Isn't 3.5 dB on the quiet side? It must be good if you are happy about it. What was making the noise?

Why am I happy? Last night I was a chaperone on a field trip to the Air and Space Museum. It was cool, I took my daughter and a neighbor kid to the school, we got on school busses with a bunch of other 4th and 5th grade kids and their parents, we rode into town through rush hour, and after the museum was closed to the public for the night, we got to look through telescopes, get a tour of the closed museum, hear a NASA astronomer talk for about 45 minutes, and see an IMAX movie.

It was really neat. We had been to the museum numerous times before, but the tour and talk were both really good.

The most interesting thing for me was when the astronomer was trying to give us a sense of the scale of the universe. If the sun is a grapefruit located in the IMAX theater of the Air and Space Museum in Washington DC, the nearest star is a cherry located in Golden Gate Park in California. And if we wanted to travel there, and could somehow travel at the speed of light, it would take as long as it would take an actual ant to walk from the grapefruit in DC to the cherry in California.

Undertoad · 03-25-2010, 05:14 PM

The Cellar wise-crackers are cracking excellent wise these days.

Pie · 03-25-2010, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glatt

I don't know what that means. Isn't 3.5 dB on the quiet side? It must be good if you are happy about it. What was making the noise?

The noise figure is a measure of the noise relative to the signal amplification. The lower, the better. A theoretically perfect optical amplifier has a 3 dB NF. the noise comes from what's called Amplified Spontaneous Emission (insert dirty joke here). In essence, the 'excited' atoms might emit a photon without waiting for an incoming signal photon, thereby creating a background 'hum' that has nothing to do with the signal to be amplified.

Anyways, my measurement was off -- it's really 4.02 dB. Still pretty kickin'.

Glatt -- have you been to the Udvar Hazy air & space museum, over by Dulles? We were there a couple of weeks ago. They've got the Enola Gay, the Global Flyer, and a SR-71 Blackbird. AND THE ENTERPRISE. The Freakin' ENTERPRISE. The U-H is also part of the Smithsonian. Highly recommended.

03-24-2010, 08:03 AM	#5176
Shawnee123 Why, you're a regular Alfred E Einstein, ain't ya? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 21,206	Wow Ali. That is a wonderful story. Thanks for that. __________________ A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones who need the advice. --Bill Cosby

03-24-2010, 08:40 AM	#5177
Trilby Slattern of the Swail Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 15,654	Going to Columbus to see my son! We're going to lunch and then to see Alice. (He wants to see Alice, but he doesn't want to admit it - so he goes with me) __________________ In Barrie's play and novel, the roles of fairies are brief: they are allies to the Lost Boys, the source of fairy dust and ...They are portrayed as dangerous, whimsical and extremely clever but quite hedonistic. "Shall I give you a kiss?" Peter asked and, jerking an acorn button off his coat, solemnly presented it to her. —James Barrie Wimminfolk they be tricksy. - ZenGum

03-24-2010, 11:37 AM	#5179
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	That's beautiful Ali. __________________ My book My other book My spirit animal

03-24-2010, 11:44 AM	#5180
Sundae polaroid of perfection Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 24,185	Thanks Ali, what a great experience - and well done you. Bri - hope you have a marvellous time. Alice? Diz won't leave my side today. It's lovely. He has me all to himself until Friday, when I'm back at school. __________________ Life's hard you know, so strike a pose on a Cadillac

03-24-2010, 04:50 PM	#5183
classicman barely disguised asshole, keeper of all that is holy. Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 23,401	Dr. Dana - thats haz an expensive ring to it. Does that mean we'll have to pay for your posts? __________________ "like strapping a pillow on a bull in a china shop" Bullitt

03-24-2010, 10:25 AM	#5178
skysidhe ~~Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.~~ Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 6,828	good times bri and a great story ali Spring is here! Through my partially open window the birds are singing. It's quiet and all is good right here right now.

03-24-2010, 12:00 PM	#5181
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	Ali, it's great that you knew what to do and were in a position to do it. Good job.

03-24-2010, 05:07 PM	#5184
Sundae polaroid of perfection Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 24,185	I smell so good. That is all. __________________ Life's hard you know, so strike a pose on a Cadillac

03-24-2010, 06:11 PM	#5185
Pie Gone and done Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 4,808	After Ali's post, this seems rather trivial -- but I measured a 3.5 dB noise figure today... (Good for you, Ali! And I'm looking forward to 'Dr. Dana' hehee!) __________________ per·son \ˈpər-sən\ (noun) - an ephemeral collection of small, irrational decisions The fun thing about evolution (and science in general) is that it happens whether you believe in it or not.

03-24-2010, 07:18 PM	#5186
Aliantha trying hard to be a better person Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 16,493	You know, I only did what I could which really wasn't all that much and I'd think only what anyone else would do if they had the knowledge. We see a lot of people off the road in the cane fields around here. Partly because the road is very windy, but also because there are a lot of idiots on the road who do stupid things. We always stop to make sure everyone's ok and every other time they've been fine. Just waiting for a tow out of the paddock. I like to think that if I were in trouble someone would help me. Karma I guess. What goes around comes around. Building up a bit of credit for the future or something like that. I don't need thanks from this man or his family, but I'm happy to be thankful with them. I know there are many more people who would do and feel the same as I do, and that's something else to be thankful about in this world. __________________ Kind words are the music of the world. F. W. Faber

03-25-2010, 12:02 AM	#5187
Tulip Professor Join Date: May 2008 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 1,293	Aliantha: Thanks for the story. It's good to hear there are still good people in the world. Oh, I know there are good people around, we just don't hear enough about them.

03-25-2010, 05:14 PM	#5189
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	The Cellar wise-crackers are cracking excellent wise these days.

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