# Latest **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=262&state=muted [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 263 --- ## [The Open Letter to "Pause All AI Development"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-open-letter-to-pause-all-ai-development/981862)
**Author:** [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Replies:** 380\ **Last updated:** [August 12, 2025, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-open-letter-to-pause-all-ai-development/981862 "2025-08-12T09:58:54Z")
A bunch of IT industry fat-cats, techno-luminaries, and BTW Elon Musk, have released an open letter calling for an immediate moratorium on further AI development: I’m not sure yet what to think. Are they spooked? Have… --- ## [Latitude calculation problem](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latitude-calculation-problem/264393)
**Author:** [@PaperBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaperBlob)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [August 12, 2025, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latitude-calculation-problem/264393 "2025-08-12T09:29:42Z")
I have the latitude and longitude of a point, say N 40 00 00, W 75 00 00. I want to find the latitude (with great precision!) of a point exactly 10 statute miles due south (so my second point is on the same meridian as … --- ## [So I learnt Conway’s “doomsday algorithm”](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-learnt-conway-s-doomsday-algorithm/1021959)
**Author:** [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [August 12, 2025, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-learnt-conway-s-doomsday-algorithm/1021959 "2025-08-12T09:08:04Z")
I’ve always had a nerdy interest in all things calendar and timekeeping, so I made an effort these days to memorise the “doomsday algorithm”, which is a method developed by mathematician John Conway to compute the day of… --- ## [Please recommend a free app for guided mediation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-free-app-for-guided-mediation/1021927)
**Author:** [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [August 12, 2025, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-free-app-for-guided-mediation/1021927 "2025-08-12T04:52:07Z")
I am just starting out and would like to try some basic mediation. Not for any particular reason, just general well being and learning methods to enhance my calm. I have very little experience and less knowledge. So f… --- ## [Aint it a Pip?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aint-it-a-pip/1021897)
**Author:** [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [August 12, 2025, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aint-it-a-pip/1021897 "2025-08-12T03:29:43Z")
I just used the word epiphany, in a post. As: “Ain’t it just an epiphany?” Got me wondering. Is that where pip comes from? I know it can mean a just hatched bird. Or a seed. But before that? @Johanna ? You around? --- ## [Any Doper Jeweler/ artisans in the house?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-doper-jeweler-artisans-in-the-house/1021569)
**Author:** [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2025, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-doper-jeweler-artisans-in-the-house/1021569 "2025-08-11T23:19:50Z")
So. The Marketplace seems very much geared towards selling not buying. Mods, if this is not appropriate please do direct me accordingly ? I’ve got an idea for a silver bracelet that will be the band for an Art Deco era … --- ## [Logarithmic Tables](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/logarithmic-tables/793079)
**Author:** [@abashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abashed)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2025, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/logarithmic-tables/793079 "2025-08-11T21:46:18Z")
How are logarithmic tables calculated? (Dumbed down plz). --- ## [Movies where a singer sings - let me explain](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-a-singer-sings-let-me-explain/1021852)
**Author:** [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Replies:** 84\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2025, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-a-singer-sings-let-me-explain/1021852 "2025-08-11T20:16:03Z")
In Rio Bravo, there’s a point in the movie where Dean Martin gets to sing. Same for Ricky Nelson in Wackiest Ship in the Army. The songs have nothing to do with the story, they’re just scenes to provide the singers an op… --- ## [Riding the waves on a floating bridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riding-the-waves-on-a-floating-bridge/1021369)
**Author:** [@Hapy-Mizri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hapy-Mizri)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2025, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riding-the-waves-on-a-floating-bridge/1021369 "2025-08-11T19:03:42Z")
Look at this video of cars on a waving bridge. Would you use more gas driving uphill on one of the waves? --- ## [Meteor Showers! - I've seen it raining fire in the sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meteor-showers-ive-seen-it-raining-fire-in-the-sky/1005480)
**Author:** [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2025, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meteor-showers-ive-seen-it-raining-fire-in-the-sky/1005480 "2025-08-11T18:57:49Z")
The Perseid meteor shower peaks this weekend, without the moon up during the best viewing. I have a pretty good night sky at my house, so I don’t have to make a trip to see it. I’ll be dragging my seven-year-old out to t… --- ## [Bands with slightly different names depending on where on the planet you are standing](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-slightly-different-names-depending-on-where-on-the-planet-you-are-standing/1021635)
**Author:** [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Replies:** 77\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2025, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-slightly-different-names-depending-on-where-on-the-planet-you-are-standing/1021635 "2025-08-11T18:37:41Z")
So we’re driving up the NJ Turnpike, as one does sometimes. A song by the band I’ve always known as “Cream” comes on. I ask my Dearly Beloved™ if she’s ever heard of another name for this band. She glanced at me with c… --- ## [Why doesn't my dog bark at a horse and buggy?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-my-dog-bark-at-a-horse-and-buggy/1021921)
**Author:** [@turtlescanfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/turtlescanfly)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2025, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-my-dog-bark-at-a-horse-and-buggy/1021921 "2025-08-11T18:32:51Z")
I leave in a very rural area, adjacent to a relatively large concentration of Amish. Hence, a horse and buggy passing by on the road out front (or back) of my house is a not infrequent occurrance, happening several times… --- ## [Ok, another 401k vs IRA vs 403b thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-another-401k-vs-ira-vs-403b-thread/1021923)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2025, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-another-401k-vs-ira-vs-403b-thread/1021923 "2025-08-11T17:01:54Z")
I’ve been reading about the merits of IRA vs 403b for a while and still cannot make sense of it. My situation: currently age 37, have a Fidelity 401k from a previous employer, and have recently begun work for a universi… --- ## [Spawn of the Space Race -- Superpets in the DCU and MCU](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spawn-of-the-space-race-superpets-in-the-dcu-and-mcu/1021720)
**Author:** [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2025, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spawn-of-the-space-race-superpets-in-the-dcu-and-mcu/1021720 "2025-08-11T16:14:01Z")
Now that Krypto the Super Dog has finally appeared in James Gunn’s 2025 Superman, we have finally recognized a character older than me in the DC Cinematic Universe. Krypto sort of joins Cosmo the Space Dog from the Marve… --- ## [Return On Investment (ROI) Question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/return-on-investment-roi-question/1021895)
**Author:** [@19USMC69](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/19USMC69)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2025, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/return-on-investment-roi-question/1021895 "2025-08-11T16:11:49Z")
There’s a new Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers being built in our area, I don’t know if it purchased the land on which it sits, but the construction is pretty significant. Notwithstanding the cost of the land (ownership … --- ## [Bass lines on Boston tracks?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bass-lines-on-boston-tracks/1021549)
**Author:** [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2025, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bass-lines-on-boston-tracks/1021549 "2025-08-11T15:53:13Z")
I happen to have been listening to a few Boston tracks recently, and I’m wondering if the bass lines were usually played by a real bass guitar or on a keyboard? There are a few very busy parts often involving rapid doub… --- ## [The positive case for Trump 2.0 (from a liberal who hates him)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-positive-case-for-trump-2-0-from-a-liberal-who-hates-him/1009788)
**Author:** [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Replies:** 165\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2025, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-positive-case-for-trump-2-0-from-a-liberal-who-hates-him/1009788 "2025-08-11T15:47:07Z")
First, to be clear, it totally sucks that Harris lost. Her winning would have been a much better outcome than anything I will present below. That said, the situation is not as grim as it may first appear. The reason is … --- ## [Animals and pain](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-and-pain/806668)
**Author:** [@Smudge777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smudge777)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2025, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-and-pain/806668 "2025-08-11T14:43:04Z")
What is pain? And can animals feel it? Growing up, I was taught that “scientists agree that animals can’t feel pain like humans, because our brains are unique”. Since then, I’ve heard an ever-growing list of animals wh… --- ## [TIL that low dose aspirin doesn’t dissolve](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/til-that-low-dose-aspirin-doesn-t-dissolve/1021920)
**Author:** [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2025, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/til-that-low-dose-aspirin-doesn-t-dissolve/1021920 "2025-08-11T13:56:43Z")
Like many dopers, I take a daily low dose of aspirin. Today, I took it with a few other pills just like I always do but then went and laid down for a nap. Two hours later, I was sitting up in bed and I felt something rol… --- ## [Strange dreams you've had recently](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-dreams-youve-had-recently/399129)
**Author:** [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2025, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-dreams-youve-had-recently/399129 "2025-08-11T13:13:31Z")
I had a very strange dream last night (it’s even more bizarre that I remember so much of it). I was back in high school and our class went on a field trip, to China. I was late at night and the bus (that we drove to… --- ## [(Old) A New Hope in the MMP](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-a-new-hope-in-the-mmp/1021681)
**Author:** [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Replies:** 320\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2025, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-a-new-hope-in-the-mmp/1021681 "2025-08-11T12:29:59Z")
I’m up early and the overnighter’s missed their chance, so I’m setting the theme this time. --- ## [Why trepan weasels (at their slumber)?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-trepan-weasels-at-their-slumber/1021685)
**Author:** [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2025, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-trepan-weasels-at-their-slumber/1021685 "2025-08-11T03:56:06Z")
In the G&S operetta, Princess Ida, the protagonists sing of the accomplishments possible for the women of the college at Castle Adamant. These include squaring the circle, sending a wire to the moon, getting sunbeams fr… --- ## [1950s computers: question #2](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1950s-computers-question-2/1021892)
**Author:** [@Timz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timz)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2025, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1950s-computers-question-2/1021892 "2025-08-11T02:12:44Z")
An example calculation, to be done in 1953: How far from the Empire State Building to San Francisco City Hall, based on the Coast and Geodetic Survey lat-lons of 40.748329N 73.986067W and 37.779341N and 122.418135W? La… --- ## [Where do you fly free-flight airplanes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-fly-free-flight-airplanes/921341)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2025, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-fly-free-flight-airplanes/921341 "2025-08-11T01:16:33Z")
I have a couple of Midwest Sniffer free-flight airplane kits in the storage unit. I built one of these as a teen, and it’s a great flyer. The Sniffer has a ‘dethermaliser’. The front of the tail surfaces is held to th… --- ## [Peacocks With Frikking Lasers in their tails](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peacocks-with-frikking-lasers-in-their-tails/1021872)
**Author:** [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2025, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peacocks-with-frikking-lasers-in-their-tails/1021872 "2025-08-11T01:10:33Z")
No, I ain’t fooling. Nature has produced laser-type light. In a Peacock’s tail. https://www.sciencealert.com/mind-blowing-discovery-peacocks-have-lasers-in-their-tails In a mind-blowing first for the animal kingdom, t… --- ## [Proper gauge for a 25 foot power cord](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-gauge-for-a-25-foot-power-cord/1021916)
**Author:** [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2025, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-gauge-for-a-25-foot-power-cord/1021916 "2025-08-11T00:48:14Z")
I’m going to get 25 foot power cables for my JBL EON 715 speakers – they take IEC C13, regular computer cables. Looks like the speakers draw 1300 peak, 650 continuous. The only ones that Monoprice seems to have in stoc… --- ## [Things appearing in my Amazon shopping cart that I did not put there](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-appearing-in-my-amazon-shopping-cart-that-i-did-not-put-there/1021851)
**Author:** [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2025, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-appearing-in-my-amazon-shopping-cart-that-i-did-not-put-there/1021851 "2025-08-10T22:36:39Z")
I shop at Amazon a lot. And I check into the Amazon website several times a week. A weird thing has happened to me about three times in the last few months. I would say that it never happened prior to about a year ago. T… --- ## [Bike Tour Question for bikers here](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bike-tour-question-for-bikers-here/1020095)
**Author:** [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2025, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bike-tour-question-for-bikers-here/1020095 "2025-08-10T21:45:23Z")
I’m taking this tour in September: I think I can still get an e-bike, but my preference is to do it with a regular bike. On that page, there is a table that shows the miles and elevation per day. If I’m doing regula… --- ## [RIP Jim Lovell](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-jim-lovell/1021876)
**Author:** [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2025, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-jim-lovell/1021876 "2025-08-10T20:08:22Z")
(I can’t figure a more appropriate place on the board besides CS) --- ## [Visual Interps of Audio Input](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visual-interps-of-audio-input/1021843)
**Author:** [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2025, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visual-interps-of-audio-input/1021843 "2025-08-10T17:25:37Z")
Way back when MTV made its debut and I was first hearing about this phenomenon of visual accompaniment to the soundtrack of an audio recording, I somehow imagined that what they’d do is really represent the sounds visual… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=261&state=muted) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=263&state=muted)