yozz

Super. Even when it's explained it makes no sense. Keep it coming please.

OK, I will do my best. It becomes a challenge.

For the experts: I will cut a few corners, so please don't put salt on the snails.

Imagine multiplying two numbers, each with 10 digits.

That will take you some time (unless you are one of these human calculators and you can earn a living showing off).

For the computer this is one `operation'.

The processing power (speed) of a computer (or `processor') is measured in how many of such operations it can do per second.

Because electronics is much faster than the human mind, this can be quite a big number.

When I bought my first home computer (1985) the number was about 1000000 per second. -> Mega

Since then computers have become faster and faster and at the moment typical computer chips can do

a few billion operations per second (1 billion -> Giga).

Unfortunately some things need much more computer speed. Like forecasting the weather. Or optimizing car designs.

And many more....

So, the solution is to use more than one processor, and putting together computers that can do a trillion (-> Tera) or nowadays

even a quadrillion (-> Peta) (a one with 15 zeroes) calculations per second.

Also one can put more than one processor in a single chip. These different processors are referred to as `cores'.

Hence some people are saying that their computer has 4 or 8 cores. This means also that it can do 4 or 8 things

at the same time. And in total it can do 4 or 8 times as much as a single processor.

Before you become too impressed: nowadays most of this computer power is used on advanced graphical games.

I hope you can see the similarity with people boasting about how many horse-powers their car has. Or how

fast it will go. Or just having a 2CV or a VW beetle and getting by with that just fine. Or whatever.

Y.

This seems the modern equivalent of the old fashioned "what car do you drive?". How many Giga-flops (Tera-flops, Peta-flops) do you have under the hood? (for the uninitiated: how much computing power. This is measured in flops, or floating point operations per second. Basically: how many calculational operations per second.) To me computers are just like cars: basic transportation/computing needs. It just happens that my professional computing needs are at times rather big. I have a modest DELL laptop (3 years old) with open-SUSE linux. But with a good internet connection I have access to very many big computers. I also have an iPad. Y.

I was looking for pics like ( using names that I know the person wont mind being an example of.. ) JeffB's , yours or Kneehighs.. Being a fashionable guy wearing some better then average footware. It started to look like a ' female impersonator ' gallery.

In the past there have been some 'cleanups'. I know of at least once since I joined. Tech removed lots of TV stuff and even complete threads. Apparently the site has a tendency to slowly slide in that direction and needs regular readjustment. Maybe such a cleanup, much work as it may be. should be considered again. The site is about high heeled shoes and some fashion that goes with it. Free style fashion. (That is how I found the site). It would be nice if it could stay that way.

Y.

PS. I am kind of curious how this was found out. It looks like difficult detective work. But maybe it is better not to tell.....

If that part were so the admins would pick up on it as there would be an IP address collision (Multiple accounts from the same IP address).

If my wife would have an account here (she does not) she would have the same IP address.

But you would notice by the completely different use of language.

Exactly the same use of language often shows such double accounts, but it requires quite some study. It needs an accumulation of posts. I do not think the moderators have time for that unless there is a particularly annoying incident.

Y.

yozz,

I understand what you're saying, but that's moving from one end of the spectrum to the other instantly. It doesn't have to be like that. You could move so slowly, say over the course of 2-3 years, to adopt some styles of unisex heels that hardly anyone would notice or comment on. Pushing the envelope slowly rarely gets noticed, whereas jumping from men's flat shoes to 6" platform stilettos is a major change.

Steve

And then somebody comes to visit your university who has not seen you in three years and the stories will start nevertheless.

It is just that you carry some responsibilities, and by going too far off the main track you may not make the best of your capabilities and you will function 'sub-optimally'.

It is not about what you can do rightfully. It is about how you can do what you would like, without messing up your potential.

By the way. In the USA: fewer grants -> less salary. They never have to mention your clothes or rights for that.

It is just an example. I am sure there are many more.

Y.

I really do wish i'm brave enough, strong enough, to ignore these conventions but most of us have the need to belong and don't want to be an outcast... further more we all have fears of loosing whatever social structure you have already acquired in their stage of life.... i know these may all be seen as excuses but they are the reasons why it's often not as simple as just do it.....

Let me add a good example to it, to illustrate the difference between theory and practice.

Assume you are a university professor, well known in your field (not super famous, but rather capable). You have worked together for your research with people in many countries etc.

So one day you show up like JeffB in his outings: high heels, hose and a skirt. Of course there is nothing that forbids that, and it does not directly prevent you from doing your work. So it should be OK. Or???

The next thing that will happen is that around the world, everybody who knows you will hear about it and start gossiping that you have finally cracked. That is not yet that bad. The bad part comes with your next grant request when you ask for money for a few graduate students or postdocs. Such requests are for a big part judged by the reputation of the principle investigator. And at that moment you have suffered quite some damage and you may not get the money (there is much competition).

In conclusion:

a: you wear what you would like.

b: some graduate students who would like to work with you would have to look for another job.

That makes it in my eyes not worth doing.

Probably other people can come up with even better cases where in principle everything should be fine but.....

Y.

The entire thread was deleted as it was started by a guy.

Sounds like a good reason.

I think the complaint in the woman's section is more about guys impersonating women.

That is a legitimate complaint in my eyes. The rules of the board are rather clear about this.

Yet there are those who, for one reason or another, prefer to ignore this and present

themselves in a way that is at odds with the rules.

I guess it requires some Sherlock qualities from the moderators.

Y.

Wow! Nice brother in law you got. It may take a while to get used to his wild side and what to expect from him. You may not get bored though. And he sounds OK. It also may take a while before your sister will pay that part of the family a visit. Y.

Steve, no offense taken. But a long time ago, tattoos were only for manly men. Now more women have them. Another thing they have taken from men. So men now have to choice but to wear heels.

If this goes like with many things, in thirty years only women can have a tattoo, and if a man has one he is "the prejudice

of the time".

"If they do what they like, I do what I like".

Y.

I was nervously muddling along, when she paused and said, "I never noticed you're so tall."

I have had this happen several times. People making a remark about that I seem taller, but never looking at my feet.

And of course I was trying to stand in such a way that I would face them, so that even if they would look down, they

would see only the front of the shoes.

I have had it only once that somebody noticed and made a loud remark. This happened at my work and it was the

director(!) "Hey, those are woman's shoes!" Me: "Yes, they are very comfortable. I have a tough time buying shoes

because my feet are so small. Not like yours (he has very big feet)." He: "That hurts. But OK, I started it."

After that there was some small talk and that was it. The heels on the shoes I was wearing are only about two

inches but quite noticeable.

Goes to show that if you behave normally and are not defensive about it, there is no problem, unless your shoes

are completely the wrong choice for the environment. At my work the women do not wear more than 2 inch heels

either (very occasional exception, but that is a case by itself).

Y.

Getting prepared, or even the possibility of getting prepared, depends very much on where you live. If you live in a rural environment and own quite some terrain, your possibilities of making your own fuel are infinitely bigger than when you live in Tokyo and would hardly be capable of owning a single square meter of real estate. If you live in a country like the Netherlands, owning a decent size garden is not for everybody. Apart from that, the vegetables may not be very edible when you are in an area with lots of air pollution. Of course you can have some canned goods and some packs of water and some batteries etc. But there is a limit to that when you live in a big city. What I am trying to say is that we cannot measure everybody by the same method. Living in the countryside has one set of advantages, living in a big city another (like having my job there which I enjoy immensely). Maybe we need a new type of scouts for city life........ Y.

If female employees are allowed to wear heels and men are not, it is a clear case of discrimination. Last time I knew discrimination based on gender was illegal.

One thing is theory (or law) and an other thing is real life.

If you try to make your boss miserable, the boss may have something in store for you too. Specially in a time

that jobs are harder to get than employees.

At all times, try to think things through to the end before you antagonize people.

(not trying to antagonize anybody with this post....)

Y.

Heeling under zero gravity might also not be very interesting. The trip takes quite a while. The Mars company should of course put in some sponsoring, but that may mean that you have to eat an awful lot of sweets. On the positive side: you may get more mass, but still be a lot lighter than on earth. Y.

They look very comfortable and also usable as slippers. Don't let them escape... Y.

I read the posts regularly, and occasionally, when I believe I have anything relevant to add, I make a post. My 'outings' are nothing special and neither are my acquisitions. In addition, others can word things much better. Like Benno, I feel at times very irritated by certain discussions, and how they are dominated in a way that I consider often rather rude. These posters may not be aware of that they are doing this, but it scares some people away. And it keeps others from joining the discussion, even though they may have a lot of good things to say. One of our prominent female posters in the past left with the remark that "she had nothing more to add", after having been criticized in what I thought to be an unfair way. On the other hand, it was not a very strong criticism. But different people take things differently. So, like many others here, I stay out of some discussions and make only remarks when I feel they add something that others have not mentioned yet. Y.

The issue is how you feel about them. If you feel guilty each time you look at them, don't buy them. If each time you look at them you feel proud, buy them. As mentioned, the exact price depends on the person. Some people can spend the money that the expensive designers ask, and some have to be far more modest. But in the end it is all in your mind. It is your mind that should feel good. And if they are gone tomorrow? It is a well known feeling, that you may have missed something great. And the shoes may hound you for some time. We have all had that. But in the end, there will be others that you can spend your money on. Particularly when you are on a tight budget. Y.

I don't think most of "the public" could afford them - that's the point. Same reason anything fashionable is expensive - it's only available to the elite classes with their bags of cash etc...

Something like this?

Two Russians meet each other in a London pub. The first compliments the other on his nice tie and asks what he

paid for it. He answers: 400 Pounds. Says the first: You dummy! I know a place where you could have gotten it

for 800 Pounds.

Y.

The next one is quite cute. I will translate it from the original Dutch. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Beefsteak-king serves horse Steakhouse "Piet de Leeuw" in Amsterdam is already many years famous for its excellent beefsteaks. However, according to an investigation by "Het Parool" (a newspaper in the Netherlands) it is not beef, but 100% horsemeat. The newspaper had the meat investigated by a butcher, a masterchef and a DNA laboratory. According to Het Parool it turns out not to be beef-, but horse-steak. The owner, Loek van Thiel, claims not to understand anything of the results. The provider of the restaurant, "Fontijn vlees", says: "it is impossible that the owner does not know that it is horse meat". --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interesting that, if it is such a good restaurant, none of the 'gourmets' that have eaten there have never noticed. How much more of this is going on? Must be plenty. Y.

I actually agree i think i should bite the bullet and do it! :-)

Actually you will find out that the bullet is made of candy....

Y.

There is a Dutch fast food thing called `kroket' which in its traditional form contains horse meat. It is some type of ragout, rolled in bread crumbs and then deep fried. Most people like it. Depending on the quality there may be more or less meat. The more modern industrial versions are sometimes with beef, because somehow some people have a mental block for horse meat. In France it is also rather normal. You even have butchers specialized in it (Chevaline?) The problem is that it was sold as beef. It never mentioned on the package that it contains horse meat. It seems that one of the persons responsible, has before been convicted for selling horse meat as if it was Argentinian beef. Now he operates from Cyprus and does something similar again. Y.

OK, how about the PC version of XYlophone? Isn't the name Exxon a bit sexist? Y.

Yoss. According to one of the 'experts' on the subject I once heard it should be either humankind or personkind. (I am not joking.) By what he (sorry - the person) said any word or phrase should be neutralised - whatever that may mean.

Let us see what the next step would be.

There is this awfully sexist difference between men and women.

Let us neutralize all of them (make some doctors rich).

Hence all the PC people who follow this, will become itkind and die out.

Problem solved.

Y.

What are we going to do with 'mankind'? Y.

San Francisco 49ers vs. Baltimore Ravens.

I've always wondered how American football and Soccer (football) got mixed up here.

If you really want to know, have a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football

The history chapter is rather lengthy, but also interesting.

Y.

I normally put none, thus: ... which is how I normally see an ellipsis in print (but my eyes are not perfect). If you use three, perhaps we should compromise on two; in medio tutissimus ibis.

High ideals, as well as high heels?

I looked it up in the TeX book (TeX is a program for typesetting technical texts).

If you just type three periods, the typesetting leaves usually not enough space between the periods and

things do not look nice. They have a special mode (math mode) in which they have a special command

for making an ellipsis and indeed there is more space there between the periods.

Unfortunately I could not find how they do define it so as to see how much space they put.

My guess would be to try with a single space. But then, who knows what programs like Word will do?

Y.