Wizard's Blog

How big would we say the equator is? And how would it be defined? 12,500 miles from pole to pole and that is divided into 180 degrees of lattitude. That is simple enough. But is a whole degree the equator? 12,500/180 in that case? Do we take it to the minutes or even seconds? 12500/90/60/60? Or do I (as usual) have most of the concept right and I missed some fine point, proving why Algebra I took me 2 attempts and even then just got by it?

I don't read the blogs here very often, but I did catch this one. There is a web site you might like: Bad Science. I used to read the posts there, but I don't know whether it is kept up to date. One of the links there specifically discusses Coriolis effect and a sham demonstration near the equator: Bad Coriolis. I suppose fakirs find it annoying when the knowledgeable and not-quite-so-gullible show up in the audience.



You have mentioned a couple of times that your dad was a career rocket scientist. I did that gig myself the first few years of my career, working with propulsion systems for military rockets, but I grew disenchanted with the work environment in the military/industrial complex and went after different pursuits from there.

I have to admit I would have breezily accepted a 200 foot error, yep even 400 feet I think, on the placement of the equator. Otherwise bad science can bother me too, my current pet peeve being the proliferation of shows purporting to take a scientific approach to so-called para-normal phenomenon. Complete shams [and shames].

We have sort of the same thing here in Michigan and many may find the same in other northern states. Here in Michigan if you travel north on I-75 just south of Gaylord, MI you will pass a sign that reads "45th parallel of latitude, half way between the north pole and the equator" These signs are all over roads where you "cross" this line but in actuallity the "real" 45th parallel is a few miles away. They do this so it doesnt create a log jam of gawkers and others that want to stop and take pictures.

GPS signal strength is attenuated when in the proximity of tourist dollars.

Your dad is quite a character. You should be proud of him. I do beleive he's earned a few fans here thanks to you posting his comments.



If it makes your dad feel better, I'd be willing to bet that he has been to other tourist traps, that proport to show something real, but employ equal amounts of fakery as he experiences when he wasn't at the equator, but that he didn't recognize the fakery because they were outside his area of expertise. Then again, I'd only bet $1....



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FYI: The direction the water rotates in a toilet is directly correleated to the position and angle of the rim holes thru which the water passes.

How wide is the equator? For tourist trap situations, I would expect to see a horizontal marker in the form of a strip of semi-precious metal, at least several yards long, and about an inch or two wide.



How wide are the lines at the Four Corners marker? (FYI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Corners_Monument)



For a real answer, I agree that a line has no width.





But apparently the position of the equator is not fixed.



From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equator:

Quote: Wikipedia

For high precision work, the Equator is not quite as fixed as the above discussion implies. The true equatorial plane must always be perpendicular to the Earth's spin axis. Although this axis is relatively stable, its position wanders in an approximately 9 metres (30 ft) radius circular motion each year. Thus, the true equator moves slightly, but this effect is only relevant to detailed scientific studies.

With regard to Ibeatyouraces's comment about tourist signs at the 45th parallel, I have seen just such a sign in Nova Scotia, along the highway between Halifax and Truro. I didn't stop, but the sign was located so close to the 45th (as indicated by my GPS) that I could not detect any error as I drove by.

Thanks for all the comment. There is a sign noting the 45th parallel on the I-5 on the way to Seattle. I don't know if it is in the right place. A guy I know went to the geographic south pole with his GPS, and indeed it said 90.0000 south. He took a picture of it.

I've been past the signs in MI. Its the idea of it, rather than being a fact at that exact spot. Reminds me of the Cardiff Giant in the late 1900's. Even after it was exposed as a fake, people still paid to see it for years and years. Half the fun of some tourist attractions is you don't know if its real or not.

Glad to see someone else thinks Buffalo is a good pick. For -115 you would think they would give you +3.5.



BTW: What stats do you use most when picking a game, other than favoring underdogs?

Answered question above by PM. Trust me, it is nothing brilliant.

Quote: WoO

I lower my standards, and will call with a middle pair, or basically any hand well above the median... I get scared out 80% of the time...

What I meant was that if you put me against a player who raises a lot, I will fold by the end of the hand 80% of the time. The other 20% I would try to string him along, and probably do a check raise on the turn or river. However, the game in question, I still lost those hands because he would catch exactly the card he needed on the river. I'm just an average poker player, at best, but I truly feel I had a horrible run of cards yesterday. It wasn't just me, other players were complainging the raiser was extremely lucky too.



Today I had another losing session. This time it was clearly to a good player who seemed to read me well. The loss was not too bad, but I deleted the Bodog Poker from my computer afterward. Hopefully I'll have some self control and not download it again. This is my pledge -- no more online poker for six months. If you hear of me playing before May 1 kick me.

I've actually been a 'victim' to a poker bot in a tournament before. It was kind of funny considering he and I were the only ones left (it was a small, 1 table tournament). I started to notice that he was raising every single hand...and so when I actually had the nuts, I just went all in and of course, the bot called.



That of course, is a terrible way to try and win a tournament, but hell, it got him to heads up...



As to your plight...who really knows in this day and age. Someone could easily program a bot to raise pre-flop every time, and then read the board and make a percentage decision on whether to raise or fold. Then again, I play with people like this at my local joint too. They will raise almost every single hand...sometimes they'll get lucky and catch, beating the follower, and sometimes they'll just get everyone to fold. It's just really aggressive playing that can either win big or lose big.

Do what I did. I got involved with a poker league.



There's no cost (except to patronize the bar holding the game). If the league is anything like the league I'm in, the people tend to be open and honest when giving you advice. And you can even ask about hands that you're not in. Just remember the rule to not talk about hands that are still in progress.



Check out NevadaPokerLeague.com. The locations page just has names and days, while the schedule includes streed addresses. I had to dig to see that most of the locations are in or around Las Vegas.

you'd think more people would just drive over! [g]

Did the plate get to remain there after the picture, collector?

"Did the plate get to remain there after the picture, collector?"



Of course. I have one in my own collection, which I can look at any time. They go on eBay for about $50.