1

Geek Speak / How good are modern computers at decoding WWII communications

« on: 29/03/2022 10:19:41 »

I would expect modern computers to easily decode traffic encodered with 3 disk machines but what of more complex encoders ?

2

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / what information about the solar system could be found from 1000 LY away

« on: 11/03/2022 10:32:39 »

At this distance with similar technology what could alien astronomers learn about our solar system

3

Technology / What does Motex do ?

« on: 20/01/2022 19:50:19 »

This gadget cuts your electric bill by 90% legaly How?

4

Technology / Can modern pacemakers survive in MRI scanners

« on: 19/01/2022 12:23:36 »

I have recently been fitted with a pacemaker will that prevent me from having a MRI scan ?

5

Technology / How do manufactured diamonds compare to natural diamonds?

« on: 03/01/2022 16:19:14 »

The market for diamond jewellery is a very manged one, can man made diamonds equal natural ones

6

Geek Speak / Is it still possible to run your vintage hardware?

« on: 31/12/2021 17:04:16 »

Many of the older correspondents may own much loved vintage scanners etc and would have found when trying to set them up on a new system they no longer work despite having the software that has worked fine for 30 years.
The reason for this is that the nice people at Redmond wishing us to use shiny new equipment no longer supply the feature NVDTM that enables equipment that uses 16 bit code on a 32 bit system to operate.
All is not lost the NVDTM feature can be downloaded from many sources and inserted into the system via DISM with instructions readily available how to do this after which everything works fine.

7

Physiology & Medicine / How long do the effects of local anethisetic last ?

« on: 25/10/2021 10:00:24 »

Six days ago I had a large's area of my upper chest numbed to facilitate the the fitting of a pace maker which has been a great success.
There is still much irritation in this area which makes sleeping difficult has this effect been reported before as I was not warned about it

8

Just Chat! / Is it possible to have a short discussion of history on a sciene forum ?

« on: 25/08/2021 19:25:15 »

Seeing the clear skies I expect to Hurricanes and Messersmits chasing each other round in circles being the oldest member there are many points I would like to discuss with fellow correspondents

9

Just Chat! / Why did the duke of York not accept a "I will keep quiet deal"?

« on: 12/08/2021 11:19:41 »

It is not unusual for VIP,s to be offered a financial deal by their sexual partners to not to publish was such an offer made to the Duke if so why did he refuse to pay up?
Was the offer such an excessive sum or did he think he could bluff it out ?

10

Geek Speak / Was the UK "405" line system superior to the German 180 line system

« on: 30/07/2021 16:20:29 »

The UK system had 377 active lines and was supposed to interlace but in reality only high grade monitors did infact interlace virtually all domestic receivers simply paired the frames up giving a 188 llne picture how ever carefully one tried to adjust them.
The worlds first TV system when we invented TV used a lot of German and American equipment

11

Just Chat! / Does anyone recall the heroic efforts to get live TV of the 1964 olympics to us

« on: 30/07/2021 05:54:08 »

There where many problems the only wide band channel was an experimental satelite with a band width of 5MB's and the original TV standard was 525 lines 60 frames and the UK standard was 405 lines 50 frames.
It was not a great success !

12

Just Chat! / Were spare versions of Hubble built?

« on: 17/07/2021 09:00:38 »

The Hubble telescope started life during the "cold war" as a modified version of a high technology reconnaissance satellite system.
I understud about six units were built but never put into service.
As the cost consists mostly of the research and develop time would it not have been expedient to have built at least one spare

13

Just Chat! / Am I the only one to find weather charts awusing?

« on: 21/06/2021 13:52:06 »

Each morning I am awakened to Sky TVs,s world wide temperature chart and it is interesting to compare temperatures between places such as Kuwait and Stanley for most of the year Kuwait is 40°C hotter but occasionally for one or two days of the year Stanley is hotter!.
Today is the summer equinox and it is a strange fact that the summer and winter ones in the UK  tend to have the same temperatures in the 10 to 12 degree range.
There are plans afoot to widen the orbit of the Earth to reduce global heating I hope nothing comes of it as it will spoil the eclipses

14

Geek Speak / Is it possible or economical to rent time on a supercomputer to make Bitcoins

« on: 17/06/2021 19:08:54 »

Can anyone buy time on a super computer or does it have to be for a good cause such as climate control or curing cancer ?

15

Just Chat! / Why are retailers of deaf aids so keen to label their products as invisable

« on: 25/05/2021 12:59:37 »

I have started to use the efficient deaf aid issued by the NHS 3 three years ago and have been reading all I can find.
All the adverts emphasize how inconspicuous they are as if there was something deeply shameful about being deaf (like having (HIV), I would be happy to wear a gaming head set if it did a good job I am in no way ashamed of being deaf ! 

16

Just Chat! / Is 2001 FO32 on a collision course ?

« on: 21/03/2021 16:58:19 »

As it is past 16.00 UTC and I am still here I guess the orbital predictions are correct.

17

Just Chat! / Do we get shorter when we get old

« on: 16/03/2021 16:44:25 »

I have always considerate my height to be 1.83m but on a recent hospital visit I was measured as 1.80m.
Is this done to reduce crowding on Charons ferry boat

18

Physiology & Medicine / Were the drugs used by veterinarians any use for producing human abortions?

« on: 11/03/2021 14:13:12 »

Before the war to obtain an abortion was very expensive and illegal (the death penalty prescribed in some counties for practitioners).
If your pet dog (bitch) or racehorse was inseminated the vets had a ready remedy, were these drugs any use in humans

19

Just Chat! / can tests in early pregnancy tell what skin colour the baby will have

« on: 09/03/2021 18:44:22 »

There seems to have been worries in royal circles that a dark skinned gene might have snuk in.

20

Physiology & Medicine / What would be a sensible amount of polar bear liver to eat

« on: 13/02/2021 19:40:10 »

We are warned about eating the livers of polar bears due to the high content of vitamin A but also vitamin A has benefits to us what would be a sensible amount to eat mg/kg body weight cooked or raw.