XIII. It worked for pigeons
My radioactive isotope separator arrived. Thank you for not touching it, Morrigan. Would you like a piece of chocolate?
October 2009
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Page Summary
- XIII. It worked for pigeons
- XII. Oh what fresh hell is this
- X. Runes
- IX. Easter eggs. If you're going to exploit them you might as well be aware of its history.
- -Rufus Scrimgeour
- VIII. Quantum gravity, cosmology, and general relativity
- VI. Twins is a very specific yet still relative term
- Daria Scrimgeour
- V. Amsterdam is hardly a town acceptable to my living standards
- IV. I do not even know who this Herman W. Wintringham is so why would I join this band?
- III. Influenza season is still another month away
- Dexter O. Scrimgeour
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Oct. 7th, 2009
Jul. 9th, 2009
XII. Oh what fresh hell is this
I'm polymerized tree sap and you're an inorganic adhesive, so whatever verbal projectile you launch in my direction is reflected off of me, returns to its original projectory and adheres to you.
Apr. 30th, 2009
X. Runes
I got an O in Ancient Runes, naturally. I use them in my research all the time.
Apr. 12th, 2009
IX. Easter eggs. If you're going to exploit them you might as well be aware of its history.
The ancient Persians painted eggs for Nowrooz, their New Year celebration, which falls on the Spring equinox. The Nawrooz tradition has existed for at least 2,500 years. The decorated eggs are one of the core items to be placed on the Haft Seen, the Persian New Year display. The sculptures on the walls of Persepolis show people carrying eggs for Nowrooz to the king.
At the Jewish Passover Seder, a hard-boiled egg dipped in salt water symbolizes the festival sacrifice offered at the Temple in Jerusalem.
The pre-Christian Saxons had a spring goddess called Eostre, whose feast was held on the Vernal Equinox, around 21 March. Her animal was the spring hare. Some believe that Ēostre was associated with eggs and hares, and the rebirth of the land in spring was symbolised by the egg. Ēostre is known from the writings of Bede Venerabilis, a seventh-century Benedictine monk. Bede describes the pagan worship of Ēostre among the Anglo-Saxons as having died out before he wrote about it. Bede's De temporum ratione attributes her name to the festival, but does not mention eggs at all.
Other theories such as Jakob Grimm’s in the 18th Century believe in a pagan connection to Easter eggs via a putatively Germanic goddess called Ostara.
Pope Gregory the Great ordered his missionaries to use old religious sites and festivals, and absorb them into Christian rituals where possible. The Christian celebration of the Resurrection of Christ was ideally suited to be merged with the Pagan feast of Eostre, and many of the traditions were adopted into the Christian festivities. There are also good grounds for the association between hares (later termed Easter bunnies) and eggs, through folklore confusion between hares' forms (where they raise their young) and plovers' nests.
And as a bonus: The English name for the festival of Easter derives from the Germanic word Eostre. It is only in Germanic languages that a derivation of Eostre marks the holiday. Most European languages use a term derived from the Hebrew pasch meaning Passover. In Spanish, for example, it is Pascua; in French, Pâques; in Dutch, Pasen; in Greek, Russian and the languages of most Eastern Orthodox countries: Pascha. In Middle English, the word was pasche, which is preserved in modern dialect words. Some languages use a term meaning Resurrection, such as Serbian Uskrs.
At the Jewish Passover Seder, a hard-boiled egg dipped in salt water symbolizes the festival sacrifice offered at the Temple in Jerusalem.
The pre-Christian Saxons had a spring goddess called Eostre, whose feast was held on the Vernal Equinox, around 21 March. Her animal was the spring hare. Some believe that Ēostre was associated with eggs and hares, and the rebirth of the land in spring was symbolised by the egg. Ēostre is known from the writings of Bede Venerabilis, a seventh-century Benedictine monk. Bede describes the pagan worship of Ēostre among the Anglo-Saxons as having died out before he wrote about it. Bede's De temporum ratione attributes her name to the festival, but does not mention eggs at all.
Other theories such as Jakob Grimm’s in the 18th Century believe in a pagan connection to Easter eggs via a putatively Germanic goddess called Ostara.
Pope Gregory the Great ordered his missionaries to use old religious sites and festivals, and absorb them into Christian rituals where possible. The Christian celebration of the Resurrection of Christ was ideally suited to be merged with the Pagan feast of Eostre, and many of the traditions were adopted into the Christian festivities. There are also good grounds for the association between hares (later termed Easter bunnies) and eggs, through folklore confusion between hares' forms (where they raise their young) and plovers' nests.
And as a bonus: The English name for the festival of Easter derives from the Germanic word Eostre. It is only in Germanic languages that a derivation of Eostre marks the holiday. Most European languages use a term derived from the Hebrew pasch meaning Passover. In Spanish, for example, it is Pascua; in French, Pâques; in Dutch, Pasen; in Greek, Russian and the languages of most Eastern Orthodox countries: Pascha. In Middle English, the word was pasche, which is preserved in modern dialect words. Some languages use a term meaning Resurrection, such as Serbian Uskrs.
Apr. 8th, 2009
-Rufus Scrimgeour
Now that this bullshite is over can we get back to real work and not who'd fuck us over the least? We have fucking criminals out there.
Proudfoot. Where the fuck is my curry?
Proudfoot. Where the fuck is my curry?
Mar. 25th, 2009
VIII. Quantum gravity, cosmology, and general relativity
Notes for future research:
Quantum gravity
How can gravity and general relativity be realized as a fully consistent quantum field theory? Is string theory (M-theory) the correct approach?
Black holes, black hole information paradox, and black hole radiation
Do black holes produce thermal radiation, as expected on theoretical grounds? Does this radiation contain information about their inner structure, as suggested by Gauge-gravity duality, or not, as implied by Hawking's original calculation? If not, and black holes can evaporate away, what happens to the information stored in them (quantum mechanics does not provide for the destruction of information)? Or does the radiation stop at some point leaving black hole remnants? Is there another way to probe their internal structure somehow, if such a structure even exists?
Extra dimensions
Does nature have more than four spacetime dimensions? If so, what is their size? Are dimensions a fundamental property of the universe or an emergent result of other physical laws? Can we experimentally "see" evidence of higher spatial dimensions?
Cosmic inflation
Is the theory of cosmic inflation correct, and if so, what are the details of this epoch? What is the hypothetical inflaton field giving rise to inflation? If inflation happened at one point, is it self-sustaining through inflation of quantum-mechanical fluctuations, and thus ongoing in some impossibly distant place?
Multiple universes
Are there physical reasons to expect other universes that are fundamentally non-observable? For instance: Are there quantum mechanical "alternative histories"? Are there "other" universes with physical laws resulting from alternate ways of breaking the apparent symmetries of physical forces at high energies, possibly incredibly far away due to cosmic inflation? Is the use of the anthropic principle to resolve global cosmological dilemmas justified?
The cosmic censorship hypothesis and the chronology protection conjecture
Can singularities not hidden behind an event horizon, known as "naked singularities", arise from realistic initial conditions, or is it possible to prove some version of the "cosmic censorship hypothesis" of Roger Penrose which proposes that this is impossible? Similarly, will the closed timelike curves which arise in some solutions to the equations of general relativity (and which imply the possibility of backwards time travel) be ruled out by a theory of quantum gravity which unites general relativity with quantum mechanics, as suggested by the "chronology protection conjecture" of Stephen Hawking?
Quantum gravity
How can gravity and general relativity be realized as a fully consistent quantum field theory? Is string theory (M-theory) the correct approach?
Black holes, black hole information paradox, and black hole radiation
Do black holes produce thermal radiation, as expected on theoretical grounds? Does this radiation contain information about their inner structure, as suggested by Gauge-gravity duality, or not, as implied by Hawking's original calculation? If not, and black holes can evaporate away, what happens to the information stored in them (quantum mechanics does not provide for the destruction of information)? Or does the radiation stop at some point leaving black hole remnants? Is there another way to probe their internal structure somehow, if such a structure even exists?
Extra dimensions
Does nature have more than four spacetime dimensions? If so, what is their size? Are dimensions a fundamental property of the universe or an emergent result of other physical laws? Can we experimentally "see" evidence of higher spatial dimensions?
Cosmic inflation
Is the theory of cosmic inflation correct, and if so, what are the details of this epoch? What is the hypothetical inflaton field giving rise to inflation? If inflation happened at one point, is it self-sustaining through inflation of quantum-mechanical fluctuations, and thus ongoing in some impossibly distant place?
Multiple universes
Are there physical reasons to expect other universes that are fundamentally non-observable? For instance: Are there quantum mechanical "alternative histories"? Are there "other" universes with physical laws resulting from alternate ways of breaking the apparent symmetries of physical forces at high energies, possibly incredibly far away due to cosmic inflation? Is the use of the anthropic principle to resolve global cosmological dilemmas justified?
The cosmic censorship hypothesis and the chronology protection conjecture
Can singularities not hidden behind an event horizon, known as "naked singularities", arise from realistic initial conditions, or is it possible to prove some version of the "cosmic censorship hypothesis" of Roger Penrose which proposes that this is impossible? Similarly, will the closed timelike curves which arise in some solutions to the equations of general relativity (and which imply the possibility of backwards time travel) be ruled out by a theory of quantum gravity which unites general relativity with quantum mechanics, as suggested by the "chronology protection conjecture" of Stephen Hawking?
Mar. 2nd, 2009
VI. Twins is a very specific yet still relative term
My sister, for all intents and purposes, has stolen my journal. So I had to venture out and acquire a new one. I do hope that no one is unintelligent enough to engage her, but humans have proven to be most susceptible to women with an increase of estrogen which serves to make them more physically appealing. Shame on all of you. She is a very troubled young woman and she doesn't need encouragement because you are amused, she needs to be told how unacceptable her behavior is.
Also my flat in London was reduced to rubble and I've been forced to return to my mother's place. I am looking for another flat. I require cleanliness and organization in a flatmate. Whistlers need not apply.
Also my flat in London was reduced to rubble and I've been forced to return to my mother's place. I am looking for another flat. I require cleanliness and organization in a flatmate. Whistlers need not apply.
Feb. 23rd, 2009
Daria Scrimgeour
Which one of you told my brother it was okay to build a laser again? Because seriously? This kid does not need to be playing with anything that can blow things up. Have you ever met Dexy? He's a lunatic.
Course I think all you magical people are just weird in general, so I don't know if Dexy's an exception or a rule. Da says you're not all weird, but then again Da flies around on a broom hitting bowling balls at people so I don't think he's particularly sane either.
Course I think all you magical people are just weird in general, so I don't know if Dexy's an exception or a rule. Da says you're not all weird, but then again Da flies around on a broom hitting bowling balls at people so I don't think he's particularly sane either.
Jan. 25th, 2009
V. Amsterdam is hardly a town acceptable to my living standards
Well this is unfortunate.
And these accommodations aren't at all up to code.
Besides, I haven't seen one Thai restaurant. How am I supposed to eat on Thursday without a Thai restaurant?
All of you Unspeakables, I kindly ask you refrain from touching my things. Really, it's for your own protection as I doubt you know the proper way to disable my wards.
And these accommodations aren't at all up to code.
Besides, I haven't seen one Thai restaurant. How am I supposed to eat on Thursday without a Thai restaurant?
All of you Unspeakables, I kindly ask you refrain from touching my things. Really, it's for your own protection as I doubt you know the proper way to disable my wards.
Jan. 23rd, 2009
IV. I do not even know who this Herman W. Wintringham is so why would I join this band?
That's completely absurd.
I would never join a band with that name. Maybe 'Revenge of the Army Ant' or 'Kryptonian Skin Cells,' but that? It has no mention of me and clearly keyboard is an essential part of music or else I would not be involved in such an enterprise.
That's all I have to say on the topic.
Also, I delivered a dissertation to the Ministry on my family tree the other day. It was 1,562 pages long complete with graphs and annotations. Even all three paternity tests which conclusively prove that, unfortunately, Brutus Scrimgeour is technically my father. No matter how I tried to disprove it, the evidence kept pointing. I'm convinced it went over rather well, as they all looked fairly wide eyed and impressed by the time I left.
Oh! 'The Wookies,' now there is a band name I can support.
I would never join a band with that name. Maybe 'Revenge of the Army Ant' or 'Kryptonian Skin Cells,' but that? It has no mention of me and clearly keyboard is an essential part of music or else I would not be involved in such an enterprise.
That's all I have to say on the topic.
Also, I delivered a dissertation to the Ministry on my family tree the other day. It was 1,562 pages long complete with graphs and annotations. Even all three paternity tests which conclusively prove that, unfortunately, Brutus Scrimgeour is technically my father. No matter how I tried to disprove it, the evidence kept pointing. I'm convinced it went over rather well, as they all looked fairly wide eyed and impressed by the time I left.
Oh! 'The Wookies,' now there is a band name I can support.
Jan. 15th, 2009
III. Influenza season is still another month away
Well this is queer. Was today an off day and no one informed me? That's rather rude.
Private to Caradoc Dearborn
I have a proposition. It involves a blue telephone booth and the Planet Room.
Private to Caradoc Dearborn
I have a proposition. It involves a blue telephone booth and the Planet Room.