Re: Welcome and intros

by Old_Doc48 Tue Jul 14, 2015 5:50 pm

Eschewer of Obfuscation wrote:
In a post to Old_Doc48, MayFlow wrote:I have a feeling you are not meant to be limited only to a niche.
.
A niche is like a crutch (minus the wood and screws or aluminum rods mind you), and we should all rise to a higher-level, where all the internichery blurs, and soon fades away. Existence above all perceivable niches, or supernicheuality is said to be next to Godliness. Jealousy from those that cannot or simply do not attain such a higher state of being, remain confined to their niche forever, hence the common negative sentiment that those found down in the niches have toward the super-niches, often abbreviated “snitches". C’mon now, pretend to crack a smile - you can't just make this kind of stuff up! (Well I guess you can, but you didn't, so I did... .)

But, returning to a more serious state-of-mind, (assuming one exists, and I can remember where I left it last), it's nice to meet you Old_Doc48! Since MayFlow has made it clear that you have some form of connection to the field of chemistry, I thought I might point out that I too have a history in this area of science, although doubtfully as formal or significant as I suspect yours to be. It was mostly due to the many "exceptions to the rule" that were always pretty much explained away as emerging from a complex quantum phenomenon - beyond the scope of whatever made such a statement, that's what drove me to physics in the first place. Those kind of holes in a science just bother me, I wanted to see the completed picture, not reference a "periodic table" with something like 85% periodicity, for instance! Don't get me wrong, I love Swiss cheese! I'm just saying that I enjoy it even more if the holes were all filled in...There'd be more cheese to enjoy - that's just common sense, right?!

Anyways, I'm sorry to butt-in like that, and to further identify you (and myself) as chemists, since these days the majority of people think that if they looked up the term "chemistry" in a thesaurus they would find the words like "terrorism" and "meth-lab" mostly! "So earlier today I'm walking along and I have a container of Root-Killer (CuSO4) and Contact-Cleaner (C6H14) in my shopping-cart at the local Wal-Mart. And as I walk by, people are pulling their children tightly to their side, shielding their eyes as they give me a subtle look of fear, anger and a touch of shame!" Quite a lovely feeling! Okay, that's a little bit of an exaggeration, but not as much as you might think. So, I hope I've not drawn any unwelcome attention to this aspect of who you are! But it is nice to know there's someone here who might relate, contribute or help with chemistry related topics. (Hey, any novel ideas for the separation of cupronickel alloys into their metallic derivatives - I'm only kidding, at least insofar as posing the question right here/now, but I am currently researching this matter.) And welcome, by the way, to this place - the forum of course!

Have a nice day

I like the long winded thank you letters... Sorry for the long delay in reply, and I'm incarcerated in an extended care facility being fed IV antibiotics every 4 hrs for 6 weeks... This all started with my wanting to have a knee replacement operation to fix a bum right knee... The damn thing had gotten so I couldn't walk normally... I was dragging the leg around like a wounded puppy. Well, I went ahead and had the procedure. A week later on a follow up, the doctor(s) [orthopedic guy and an infectious disease doctor] found the implant cavity was infected. So, I had to go back into surgery and had it done all over again. Four weeks later, I'm just now getting to where I can get around normally without crunches or wheel chair. I'm my old self again, and feel more like getting back into the forum streams, so thanks for the intro and I look forward to providing some unique perspectives on some interesting topics.

Yeah, I agree, I'm not a niche man. I do like variation... I lvz my chem teaching, but I'm also a swimmer (was doing a mile a day before the knee land locked me) and flying small airplanes. I'm a certified flight instructor and occasionally teach people to fly. Well, that about sums it up on me, but I'll be around. Again thanks for the intro welcome. JP

by Paul Richard Martin Sat Jul 25, 2015 2:05 pm

Hello everyone on the forum. I was introduced to this forum by Greylorn, with whom I have been in communication for several years. From what I see, this should be a delightful forum for me so I hope to be actively involved.

I discussed my choice of name with Greylorn and he advised me to use my real name for several reasons. One was that he, for some reason, does not like the name I have used on other forums and on YouTube. (see youtube.com/Qdogsman ). I used to have a lovable black lab named Quincy. We affectionately called him Qdog. Since Qdog was my dog, I figured that I was Qdog's man.

But I chose to use my real name: Paul Martin. But I was unable to register by that name because "it was already taken", so I tried Paul R Martin. That got me registered but the email to allow me to confirm the registration never arrived. So I tried again, and of course that name was now already taken. I finally succeeded by using my full name, Paul Richard Martin.

I was taken by Eschewer of Obfuscation's discussion of "I think therefore I am" and the question of thinking and knowing. I have given this a lot of thought and if anyone's interested, you can read my thoughts by going to my website and following the links: paulandellen.com>ideas>musings. Make sure you scroll to the bottom of the home page to find the "ideas" link.

Just for starters, though, I had the same trouble with the true identity of the "I" in Descartes' Cogito. I fixed the problem by composing the only absolutely unassailably true statement that I know: Thought happens.

Enough intro. I'll talk to you all later.

by Mayflow Sun Jul 26, 2015 11:55 am

Hi. The hardcoding in the software does not allow you to post links until 7 days is up, but I take it you are into building a log cabin?

by Paul Richard Martin Sun Jul 26, 2015 8:32 pm

Thanks for the tip, Mayflow. I'll wait the seven days before I post any more links.

Yes, you could say that I am into log home building. I have been passionately working on mine for about 23 years now. I am still not done but I have a spectacularly enjoyable time nearly every week, year around, when I am up there working on it.

Paul

by Sponsored content