2012 Off topic thread(basketball,movies,etc whatever)

[MMA_scientist]

Now, as MMA_scientist notes, this picture has a flaw which is that the balloon is clearly expanding into a three-dimensional space, that I do not believe has any real analog in the actual "superuniverse". Is there such a thing as "the space that space expands into"? I don't know about that.

Yeah, and that is what is so frustrating to us laypersons. We don't really give a shit if the universe is expanding or not, we just want to know about the air that surrounds the balloon as it expands. In fact, we don't think you have any better idea than we do...

I mean, I think I was about 6 when this thought entered my mind, and I assume almost everyone else wondered the same thing. So far me as a 6 year old has done just as well as me as a 34 year old, and I am pretty sure, just as well as anyone ever in the history of the earth.

Unbounded but finite... I have read about this concept. Is this totally accepted in your circle? Or are the still some "actually infinite" holdouts. In your example, if the universe is unbounded but finite, if I kept travelling through space star trek style, going the same direction, eventually I would be back at the beginning of my journey.

I saw a video of Carl Sagan trying to explain it 4th dimension, but he really couldn't do it very well, and basically says something that makes no sense to me--- "we cannot imaging 4 dimensions, but we can certainly think about it..." That's jibberish...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfLVhP4-2bo

In any event, it still begs the question if the universe is finite, and expanding... what about the super universe?

[Mr. IWS]

In any event, it still begs the question if the universe is finite, and expanding... what about the super universe?

[Svino]

Yeah, and that is what is so frustrating to us laypersons. We don't really give a shit if the universe is expanding or not, we just want to know about the air that surrounds the balloon as it expands. In fact, we don't think you have any better idea than we do...

Well, I am getting a bit out of my element here, since I'm not a cosmologist. But I would say that if we're considering something outside the universe then we can't observe it and probably can't talk about it at all meaningfully, except so far as the fact that we should still apply the idea of parsimony. So if there's no known mathematical or physical requirement for our expanding space to have its own space to grow into, there's no reason to invent the idea of such a superspace.

Ultimately, I can't tell if you're annoyed at scientists for "making up shit" or for not making up shit when you want them to.

Unbounded but finite... I have read about this concept. Is this totally accepted in your circle? Or are the still some "actually infinite" holdouts. In your example, if the universe is unbounded but finite, if I kept travelling through space star trek style, going the same direction, eventually I would be back at the beginning of my journey.

There's definitely still debate about the shape and curvature of the universe, so I think there may be dissent.

He really couldn't do it very well, and basically says something that makes no sense to me--- "we cannot imaging 4 dimensions, but we can certainly think about it..." That's jibberish...

I agree with his statement that we cannot imagine (as in, make an image in our minds) an object in four spatial dimensions, but there are still plenty of ways we can think and reason about such things. Mathematically, it all works fine.

In any event, it still begs the question if the universe is finite, and expanding... what about the super universe?

...and here I just had a minor argument with my friend about the use/misuse of the phrase "begs the question". Naturally, I was on the side of traditionalist pedantry.

[SPX]

While most cops protect and serve, former East St. Louis police chief Michael Baxton apparently likes to play.

Baxton pleaded guilty Thursday to stealing four Xbox 360 consoles from the FBI, reports St. Louis news station KSDK. To be clear, the 360 is not standard issue equipment for the Feds these days. Officials had them in the car as part of a sting operation after suspicions arose about the chief's conduct.

Baxton, who faces up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000, came under suspicion of offering preferential treatment to some suspects and stealing/selling items from the evidence locker. That's when the FBI decided to test him.

Agents bought five Xbox 360s, put them in the trunk of a car, then reported the car as being stolen. Baxton and another officer responded to the call -- and sure enough, when they saw the Xboxes, the chief ordered the officer to put four in his car and keep one for himself.

"Unbeknownst to Baxton, the unnamed officer voluntarily came forward to report other acts of misconduct occurring in Alorton and had been assisting the federal investigation from its inception. The unnamed officer was equipped with covert surveillance devices at the time of the theft -- and he audio and video recorded the entire incident," reads the court record.

Officials tracked one of the Xboxes and found it being used in Baxton's basement. But the U.S. Attorney overseeing the case said Baxton lied and tried to frame another officer when confronted.

Baxton's attorney calls the incident a "monumental lapse of judgment."

Ironically, this isn't the former chief's first brush with the other side of the law. It turns out Baxton had two felony convictions from 1982 before he was appointed: one for theft and another for burglary. Those convictions were expunged in 1989.

The town really can't catch a break when it comes to law enforcement officials. Baxton, after all, got the job of chief when the former chief was convicted of federal tax crimes.

[Ludo]

While most cops protect and serve, former East St. Louis police chief Michael Baxton apparently likes to play.

Baxton pleaded guilty Thursday to stealing four Xbox 360 consoles from the FBI, reports St. Louis news station KSDK. To be clear, the 360 is not standard issue equipment for the Feds these days. Officials had them in the car as part of a sting operation after suspicions arose about the chief's conduct.

Baxton, who faces up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000, came under suspicion of offering preferential treatment to some suspects and stealing/selling items from the evidence locker. That's when the FBI decided to test him.

Agents bought five Xbox 360s, put them in the trunk of a car, then reported the car as being stolen. Baxton and another officer responded to the call -- and sure enough, when they saw the Xboxes, the chief ordered the officer to put four in his car and keep one for himself.

"Unbeknownst to Baxton, the unnamed officer voluntarily came forward to report other acts of misconduct occurring in Alorton and had been assisting the federal investigation from its inception. The unnamed officer was equipped with covert surveillance devices at the time of the theft -- and he audio and video recorded the entire incident," reads the court record.

Officials tracked one of the Xboxes and found it being used in Baxton's basement. But the U.S. Attorney overseeing the case said Baxton lied and tried to frame another officer when confronted.

Baxton's attorney calls the incident a "monumental lapse of judgment."

Ironically, this isn't the former chief's first brush with the other side of the law. It turns out Baxton had two felony convictions from 1982 before he was appointed: one for theft and another for burglary. Those convictions were expunged in 1989.

The town really can't catch a break when it comes to law enforcement officials. Baxton, after all, got the job of chief when the former chief was convicted of federal tax crimes.

"Which brings me to my next point, kids, don't do drugs."

[SPX]

Taking XBOXes that belong to criminals and trying to re-sell them for profit? I actually don't have a lot of reason to hate him for that. I mean, it's not like they're going to go to charity or anything.

But trying to frame someone else for some shit you did is just fucked up.

[Luke]

Xbox is gay

[Ludo]

Xbox is gay

I bet an Xbox thread here on IWS gets more activity and posters than that Boxing one...

[Mr. IWS]

I bet an Xbox thread here on IWS gets more activity and posters than that Boxing one...

Wow man, that cuts deep.........................but so true.

[Luke]

I bet an Xbox thread here on IWS gets more activity and posters than that Boxing one...

Hahahahaha.............forgot xbox brings you in the big bucks just like boxing wagers.
Good choice


I've already took my boxing talk elsewhere. I'll laugh all the way to the bank .

[edman5555]

I always thought that gas giants referred to Jupiter and Saturn for some reason. I am just dumbfounded that I am one of those people that goes his whole life just totally oblivious to a fact that the rest of the world knows.

I knew a girl in college, a 4.0 student that thought Alaska was an island by Hawaii, because that is how it usually appears on a map, just off to the side. I was just dumbfounded as to how she could not know where Alaska was and not know that it was cold and not tropical. Now I know, sometimes you think you know something, so you just stop paying attention. I thought I knew the solar system in 1985. 25 years later, I learn I have been living a lie, all because of a poster of fat AJ.

A friend of mine went to Boston College. Pretty close to Ivy League. He dated a girl from there. She has a degree in education from Boston College. He brought up Josef Stalin in a conversation. She did not know who he was.

[poopoo333]

Zak, I BOL'd at the 0-0 basketball game.

[Mr. IWS]

Zak, I BOL'd at the 0-0 basketball game.

LOL, fuckin disaster this morning man. The Only good part was my kid smashed the fuck out of the other teams Center towards the end of the game.

[Ludo]

Hahahahaha.............forgot xbox brings you in the big bucks just like boxing wagers.
Good choice


I've already took my boxing talk elsewhere. I'll laugh all the way to the bank .

It may not be anything to wager on but it entertains Me, therefore I'm not a curmudgeonly young guy like you have become.

[SPX]

Went and saw Haywire yesterday. Pretty good. Kind of an action-mystery film. It seems short and the plot could be a bit easier to understand (it will probably take two viewings to really "get it"), but the story is interesting, the action is good, and most of the film is just directed in a way that keeps you entertained. Gina actually does quite well and I think she could actually go on to have a legitimate career as long as she sticks to the right kind of roles.

Also, I found out the production budget for the movie is only $25M, which is basically less than every Hollywood film made today. The fact that they were able to get so many stars and to tell a story that takes place in multiple countries for only $25 million is itself pretty impressive.