Modern Vespa

http://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/jokes-only-nerds-will-understand
I loved number 17.

Hilarious!

That's good stuff.

If I ever get a ticket for speeding, I am considering taking exception to a phrase that is often misunderstood and misused, and argue my case in court. Here is how the argument may go, if I was, perhaps, over the speed limit but trying to slow down at the time I was caught:

Sharp: The officer told me I was traveling at a high rate of speed. But my rate of speed was zero.

Judge: That's impossible. You were moving, correct?

Sharp: Yes I was moving, at a rate of speed of zero. No, wait, actually I was traveling at a negative rate of speed.

Judge: You were backing up?

Sharp: No, I was slowing down.

Judge: Backwards?

Sharp: Forwards. Slowing down whilst traveling forward.

Judge: I should hold you in contempt of my court; One, for giving this crazy story about going backwards, and Two, for using the word "whilst"...

Not wanting to be too captious, I think that 'rate of speed' is a velocity*. 'Rate of change of speed' is an acceleration.



(*Velocity is speed and direction).

Speed = velocity = (distance/time)

Acceleration = (rate of speed) =(distance/time/time)

So when people say "rate of speed" they really mean rate, or speed, but not both.

When holding a constant rate, even 85 MPH, your speed is 85 MPH, but your "rate of speed" (change in speed, or acceleration) is indeed zero.

I learn something new everyday, and at this rate of learning I may well end up knowing less than I did...

But for completeness it really should be "time rate of speed" or "rate of speed with respect to time", unless the rate is with respect to something else.

Problem is, at my age, if I learn something new I forget something old to make room.

I must just be making space, then.

An old nerd joke, probably has been on here before:

There are 10 kinds of people, those who understand binary and those who don't.


(Kind of like the OCT/DEC joke above.)

Love that one. How about this:

There are 2 kinds of people: Those who think there are only two kinds of people, and everybody else.

Hey....

Just FYI, my daily commute is 49,947.1148 Smoots, each way.

If you know what a Smoot is, chances are you are already a nerd.

If not, you can find out more here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot

BTW, along with most other units of measure and currency conversions, entering "X miles in Smoots" (with X = to the distance you want to convert), into Google will provide the answer for you. No joke!

Trepp, The more I read from you, the smarter I get. 10,591.5224 smoots for my freeway commute, 14752.4776 if I use surface streets.

Hmm, while I'm flattered... I should warn you never to confuse good recall with being smart or learned.

I'm a rich repository of unrelated/uncataloged trivia, minutiae, and random 'facts' (with said 'facts' being open to debate). But that doesn't make me smart any more than one would call the sack holding the groceries 'nutritious'.

Well put, from another sack!

Yes, but what was the reason for the transparent pipe in the infinite corridor?

And all the time I thought a Smoot was an excommunicated Smurf...? R

No idea, having never attended MIT. I did visit there quite frequently on business since my company was collaborating with several of the on-campus start-ups. That's how I absorbed some of the MIT lore, such as the 'Smoot' unit of measure.

But if I had to guess, I'd have to say the transparent pipe probably has something to do with MITHenge (the twice yearly event when the sun sets in alignment with the Infinite Corridor and shines along its entire length).

It shows that liquids will cling to the sides of a vertical pipe and not flow down the center*. It's been a long time since I've been there. I have a lot of fond memories.