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Tornadoes About the World
Posted by Dr. Science on 09/27/2013
Are there tornadoes in Germany? If not, why the heck not?
———- from Brian H of Lansing, MI
Nope. The Teutonic sense of order would never allow such a thing. Italy, however, enjoys its numerous twisters, and the Spanish and Portugese can’t seem to get enough of their beloved “El Grande Vavarooma.” Once there was a tornado in Switzerland, but it was immediately arrested and deported. To Italy, I think. Thousands of tornadoes occur every day in Libya, but no one seems to notice. As anyone who knows the movie “The Wizard of Oz”, (based, of course, on the album “Dark Side of the Moon”) both Kansas and Pink Floyd have had their share of twisters. But these are no longer the scourge they were, at least in Kansas, thanks to the strictly enforced 65 mph speed limit.
Nope. The Teutonic sense of order would never allow such a thing. Italy, however, enjoys its numerous twisters, and the Spanish and Portugese can’t seem to get enough of their beloved “El Grande Vavarooma.” Once there was a tornado in Switzerland, but it was immediately arrested and deported. To Italy, I think. Thousands of tornadoes occur every day in Libya, but no one seems to notice. As anyone who knows the movie “The Wizard of Oz”, (based, of course, on the album “Dark Side of the Moon”) both Kansas and Pink Floyd have had their share of twisters. But these are no longer the scourge they were, at least in Kansas, thanks to the strictly enforced 65 mph speed limit. Vacuum Tube Valley
Posted by Dr. Science on 09/25/2013
I work in silicon valley, as part of the semi-conductor industry. Yesterday, someone was telling me that he worked in computers in a third world country. I’m unaware of any concentration of software or hardware developers outside of the U.S. Can you tell me where he worked?
———- from Dennis Coffey of San Jose, CA
You haven’t heard of Vacuum Tube Valley? It’s just beyond the Ural mountains, in what used to be Tavlookastan, a region famous for beet and cabbage growing. Now, thanks to the collapse of the Soviet Union, private enterprise has spawned a computer industry, starting with the conversion of a few beet warehouses. Eventually, they hope to have assembly lines, chip manufacture, and injection molded plastics, but right now each computer is made by hand, using parts taken out of discarded answering machines and military surplus radar. The housing, or chassis, is made from metal plate. For industrial applications, they use stone.
You haven’t heard of Vacuum Tube Valley? It’s just beyond the Ural mountains, in what used to be Tavlookastan, a region famous for beet and cabbage growing. Now, thanks to the collapse of the Soviet Union, private enterprise has spawned a computer industry, starting with the conversion of a few beet warehouses. Eventually, they hope to have assembly lines, chip manufacture, and injection molded plastics, but right now each computer is made by hand, using parts taken out of discarded answering machines and military surplus radar. The housing, or chassis, is made from metal plate. For industrial applications, they use stone. Before the Internet
Posted by Dr. Science on 09/23/2013
I am a 26 years old and can’t remember what it was like to live without the Internet. Do you remember what it must have been like?
———- from Jerry Roberti of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Just barely. I’m 47, and my memories are of a Webless[IB1] World as diaphanous as the seat of my old suit pants, but it seems to me that people used to read and write. They would hold pieces of paper in front of their faces and grunt softly in understanding, or sometimes imprint words on a piece of paper and then wrap that piece of paper in another, put a gummed picture of a dead president on it, and then place the whole arrangement in a box, waiting for someone to physically take it across the country, or sometimes even the world, to its intended recipient. I know it sounds crazy, but the antiquated system used to work, most of the time. Now that system is only used to sending bills and junk mail. But back in those olden days, that’s all there was!
Just barely. I’m 47, and my memories are of a Webless[IB1] World as diaphanous as the seat of my old suit pants, but it seems to me that people used to read and write. They would hold pieces of paper in front of their faces and grunt softly in understanding, or sometimes imprint words on a piece of paper and then wrap that piece of paper in another, put a gummed picture of a dead president on it, and then place the whole arrangement in a box, waiting for someone to physically take it across the country, or sometimes even the world, to its intended recipient. I know it sounds crazy, but the antiquated system used to work, most of the time. Now that system is only used to sending bills and junk mail. But back in those olden days, that’s all there was! Printer On/Off Switch
Posted by Dr. Science on 09/20/2013
My new laser printer has no on/off switch. On such a relatively expensive machine, why have they left off such a common and inexpensive feature?
———- from Bonnie Lennox of Marshalltown, IA
They’re just responding to some new incentives the electrical utilities have come up with to encourage wasting energy. The more we waste, the more they earn. It also burns up your printer faster, which makes printer manufacturers happy. You’d think consumers would catch on and fight back, but instead, we’re all tickled that we don’t have to wait for our printers to warm up. If only automobile manufacturers could induce us all to keep our engines running all the time, so we didn’t have to worry about warming our cars up in the winter, the oil companies and car manufacturers would be eternally grateful. Beware of all technical innovation. The person it benefits may not be you.
They’re just responding to some new incentives the electrical utilities have come up with to encourage wasting energy. The more we waste, the more they earn. It also burns up your printer faster, which makes printer manufacturers happy. You’d think consumers would catch on and fight back, but instead, we’re all tickled that we don’t have to wait for our printers to warm up. If only automobile manufacturers could induce us all to keep our engines running all the time, so we didn’t have to worry about warming our cars up in the winter, the oil companies and car manufacturers would be eternally grateful. Beware of all technical innovation. The person it benefits may not be you. Of the Prozac
Posted by Dr. Science on 09/18/2013
The prozac it?s a antidepressive drug. Is it on the drugstore or is it illegal, or the production gets over. In the USA.
———- from Emanuel Pacheco of SantaFe de Bogota, Colombia
I’m glad to hear that our Good Neighbors to the South are as interested in the legitimate pharmaceutical industry as we are. Yes, the difference between legal and illegal drugs is that the former are legal, while the latter aren’t. Of course, Prozac is to cocaine as a Kumquat is to a watermelon, but that doesn’t mean people are suddenly going to stop buying kumquats and switch to watermelons. I’m using this simple analogy an an insulting way of making a point because, from the way you phrased your question, I can see your command of English is limited. Unfortunately, I’ve lost track of the point I was trying to make, but I’m sure you’ll agree that both watermelons and kumquats have their season, and each or both make a fine addition to any table.
I’m glad to hear that our Good Neighbors to the South are as interested in the legitimate pharmaceutical industry as we are. Yes, the difference between legal and illegal drugs is that the former are legal, while the latter aren’t. Of course, Prozac is to cocaine as a Kumquat is to a watermelon, but that doesn’t mean people are suddenly going to stop buying kumquats and switch to watermelons. I’m using this simple analogy an an insulting way of making a point because, from the way you phrased your question, I can see your command of English is limited. Unfortunately, I’ve lost track of the point I was trying to make, but I’m sure you’ll agree that both watermelons and kumquats have their season, and each or both make a fine addition to any table. 