Humor Random Comments Thread

[jedidia]

It's kind of weird how sometimes you come full circle. It has been some time since I last managed to accidentally build an infinite loop into my code. The patterns that lead to them become kind of easy to spot after a while, and none of them has a chance to make it past the first unit test anyways.
But working with stateful distributed systems that need to message each other, and where those messages often trigger some action or other that might trigger further messages, I am discovering entirely new and miraculous ways to make them happen without warning and under circumstances that are difficult to determine, what with usually several servers partaking in the merry go-round. I feel like after almost 10 years as a professional developer, I'm finally back where I started.

Truly, Rube Goldberg should be declared an honorary software engineer!

 

[Linguofreak]

It's kind of weird how sometimes you come full circle. It has been some time since I last managed to accidentally build an infinite loop into my code. The patterns that lead to them become kind of easy to spot after a while, and none of them has a chance to make it past the first unit test anyways.
But working with stateful distributed systems that need to message each other, and where those messages often trigger some action or other that might trigger further messages, I am discovering entirely new and miraculous ways to make them happen without warning and under circumstances that are difficult to determine, what with usually several servers partaking in the merry go-round. I feel like after almost 10 years as a professional developer, I'm finally back where I started.

Truly, Rube Goldberg should be declared an honorary software engineer!

Just don't combine a distributed infinite loop with a Sorcerer's Apprentice bug. The technical term for this failure mode is "network go bye-bye".

 

[jedidia]

The technical term for this failure mode is "network go bye-bye".

That would be very interesting, considering it's Amazon's network...

 

[Urwumpe]

That would be very interesting, considering it's Amazon's network...

Volkswagen stated a "self-replicating packet" as cause for a major network failure last year that also stopped production.... (I still think the cause is rather just a badly executed configuration change)

 

[Scav]

Just some doodling I've done recently in my alt-universe space program. Patch art and concept idea for SEP-001, Constitution's first official flight:

 

[TheShuttleExperience]

Interesting. I managed to make my own icecream, accidentally

I am three hours in readiness (too less trains available, so train cancellations). Since it is only 4 minutes to get home, I decided to drive home and make a nice smoothie - berries and banana. But I did not include a banana this time since it causes nasty acid reflux lately. So I just took the frozen berries, milk and sugar and put it in the mixer as usual. Once I opened the bottle, I thought: uh, too less milk and too much fruits, what a mess. But I put the spoon in out of curiosity and... wow, almost perfect icecream Seems that the frozen, super cold berries turned the milk into ice crystals while mixing. I wasn't aware that one doesn't need an ice machine to make icecream, but just a mixer and frozen stuff

Food preparation is nothing but pure chemistry

 

[Matias Saibene]

Just some doodling I've done recently in my alt-universe space program. Patch art and concept idea for SEP-001, Constitution's first official flight:

View attachment 37672

Space Shuttles For The Win!

 

[Scav]

Space Shuttles For The Win!

I originally pictured the XR5 being the, well, Airbus A350-sized (and weighted) 'next generation' of that orbiter so . . . yes. The idea of the Shuttle 'handing off the baton' just kinda came to me for that first mission, and I like it a lot.

 

[jedidia]

So here's an interesting question that I've never asked myself before but suddenly realise I can't answer:
Why does motion sickness cause Nausea and vomiting? I don't mean "why is motion sickness". I get that it's about conflicting sensory input. What I wonder is, why does it cause this specific reaction?
Like, if I have a fever, my body starts sweating, which is reasonable as it helps with cooling. If I ate something bad, I get sick and throw up because the body needs to expell the poison, also very reasonable. But when I'm off-balance, the same happens? I can't see any practical use in the physical reaction. No evolutionary advantage. My best guess right now would be that maybe some common forms of poisoning can cause dizzyness, and that motion sickness effectively triggers an anti-poison response from the body...?

 

[Linguofreak]

So here's an interesting question that I've never asked myself before but suddenly realise I can't answer:
Why does motion sickness cause Nausea and vomiting? I don't mean "why is motion sickness". I get that it's about conflicting sensory input. What I wonder is, why does it cause this specific reaction?
Like, if I have a fever, my body starts sweating, which is reasonable as it helps with cooling. If I ate something bad, I get sick and throw up because the body needs to expell the poison, also very reasonable. But when I'm off-balance, the same happens? I can't see any practical use in the physical reaction. No evolutionary advantage. My best guess right now would be that maybe some common forms of poisoning can cause dizzyness, and that motion sickness effectively triggers an anti-poison response from the body...?

My understanding is that it's exactly that. Apparently at least some of the coordination trouble from drunkenness is actually due to changes in the consistency of fluid in the inner ear. Also, sensory mismatch may cause the brain to decide that it's hallucinating.

A quick Wikipedia check also indicates that vagus nerve interactions may be responsible. The name of the vagus nerve comes from a Latin root having to do with wandering, because it and its branches go all over the place with little apparent rhyme or reason, and it happens to innervate, among other things, the vestibular system, the eye muscles, and the stomach. The combination of the first two makes sense, because a reflex connection between the vestibular system and the eyes is necessary to allow eye tracking to be maintained during motion.