In January 1783, Price returned to his laboratory in Guildford, ostensibly to start production of the miraculous powders. In fact, he set about the distillation of laurel water (which contained hydrogen cyanide, commonly known as prussic acid). He wrote his will at the same time, but it was another six months before he returned to London to invite members of the Royal Society to witness the experiment on 3 August in his laboratory in Guildford.

Despite the claimed successes of his initial demonstrations and the furor they had caused, only three members turned up in Guildford on the appointed day. Although clearly disappointed by the poor turnout, Price welcomed the three men and then, stepping to one side, ended his life by drinking the flask of laurel water he had prepared. The three men immediately noticed a change in his appearance, but before they could do anything, Price had died of cyanide poisoning.

Not only that, but they are the same species (different cultivars): https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brassica_oleracea

Also, obligatory xkcd: https://m.xkcd.com/2827/

Did you also know there’s no talking crab in the original story by Hans Christian Andersen? Since we’re being faithful to the original.

It’s a cool idea, but has not worked well in practice. The plant referenced in the 2016 article you linked (Crescent Dunes) stopped operation in 2019 due to performance and cost issues. It appears to have restarted after the original owner filed for bankruptcy and sold the asset, but at a lower capacity.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crescent_Dunes_Solar_Energy_Project

Good on you for including a written description of the image but… “picture of the actor Tony Stark”?

Edit: or are these descriptions automatically generated?

Even better, here’s a direct link to a NASA page discussing the data: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/150192/tracking-30-years-of-sea-level-rise

Some quotes from the page:

Scientists have found that global mean sea level—shown in the line plot above and below—has risen 10.1 centimeters (3.98 inches) since 1992. Over the past 140 years, satellites and tide gauges together show that global sea level has risen 21 to 24 centimeters (8 to 9 inches).

“With 30 years of data, we can finally see what a huge impact we have on the Earth’s climate,” said Josh Willis, an oceanographer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and NASA’s project scientist for Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich. “The rise of sea level caused by human interference with the climate now dwarfs the natural cycles. And it is happening faster and faster every decade.”

The altimetry data also show that the rate of sea level rise is accelerating. Over the course of the 20th century, global mean sea level rose at about 1.5 millimeters per year. By the early 1990s, it was about 2.5 mm per year. Over the past decade, the rate has increased to 3.9 mm (0.15 inches) per year.

While a few millimeters of sea level rise per year may seem small, scientists estimate that every 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) of sea level rise translates into 2.5 meters (8.5 feet) of beachfront lost along the average coast. It also means that high tides and storm surges can rise even higher, bringing more coastal flooding, even on sunny days. In a report issued in February 2022, U.S. scientists concluded that by 2050 sea level along U.S. coastlines could rise between 25 to 30 centimeters (10 to 12 inches) above today’s levels.

It looks like it regularly goes on sale that cheap on Amazon, at least in my region:

https://camelcamelcamel.com/product/B0BVFS94J5

There are different sizes - the smaller ones are not hard to do in a sitting. For the larger ones, I find myself working on one area at a time, then putting it down and working on another area later. It’s not too bad - almost like a jigsaw puzzle.

Sorry about your dad. Not what you asked for, but if she likes Sukoku your step-mum might like nonograms (“Japanese crossword”). Different strategies than Sukoku but it feels like I’m using the same part of my brain and you make a picture in the end. Lots of free ones of varying difficulties here: https://www.nonograms.org/

I guess Freud was right

If you’re measuring the temperature in the room currently, you could try trending it yourself. Start the heater, and see how quickly the temperature rises (e.g., degrees per hour). Call this Rate 1.

Then turn off the heat and see how quickly the temperature drops. Call this Rate 2. For the formula below, make it a positive number.

Assuming the weather conditions are similar and the room temperature doesn’t change too much during data collection:

Rate of heat loss = Heater power * Rate 2 / (Rate 1 + Rate 2)

This number could be impacted by the weather: temperature, wind and insolation (affected by time of day, time of year, latitude, and cloud cover). It’s also impacted by room conditions (temperature, slade position, how many times the door is opened), so you’d need to do a few trials to get a sense for thr impact of different variables.

You’ve probably already thought of this, but your strategy is going to result in noticeable swings in temperature in the room, because ypure going to do a lot of heating at once when prices are cheap, then turn off the heating and let the room cool. Compare that to a thermostat that tries to maintain a constant temperature.

Sounds like a fun project - good luck! I’d love to hear updates here as you go.

He forgot to take his dose of Prozium

Also showing OK on Liftoff

Just Catholics, iirc.

I’m speechless