Geoff 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Geek: Photography, physics, comedy, computers, science fiction, astronomy, aviation, books, maths, cosmology, human survival mechanisms, rock/bass, whimsy.

~ School science technician
~ Science/Art collaboration
~ Cats: Cassie & Tia
~ Found first 3 books in π
~ Hacker: The good kind.

Personal account

Where?: Scotland, Highlands
Pronouns: He/him, or whatever you prefer.
Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/_thegeoff/
Web:: https://thegeoff.net

Public Key

npub18qzypexrj4f0ehhuq7264y3d6q0kqmrvetgtmj9efwdjxw6z2w4q7hn84a

NIP-05 Address

_thegeoff_at_mastodon.social@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsrspzqunpe25humm7q09d2jgkaq8mqd3kv459aezu5hxer8dp982sn2secq

Author Public Key

npub18qzypexrj4f0ehhuq7264y3d6q0kqmrvetgtmj9efwdjxw6z2w4q7hn84a

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Last Notes

2024-07-10 14:13:03

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I suspect a^2+b^2=c^2 was known to work for a long time before there was a mathematical proof. It's not a big jump from using a 3-4-5 triangle to generate right angles to noticing the squaring relationship. *Proving* it is trickier, but not necessary if your right angles do the job. Hey, we still use Newton's mechanics for interplanetary navigation - there's a disproof, but it's a good enough tool.

2024-07-05 23:22:09

Our high school radioactive sources have basically hit the end of their design life. They need to be disposed of, which will be expensive. Hey, once in 30 years job.
But I also need to argue for replacement sources, which is also expensive.
Ideas? So far I've got our huge investment in training, transferrable to other schools (citation in the last year), nuclear industry in the area (oil/NDT, decommisioning, spaceports and RTGs), and just physics being a highly required subject.
Any others?

2024-07-05 21:36:58

Quick note on the old "fusion reactors are a decade away and always will be" thing:
Fusion reactors work. More energy out than in. They exist. They're just a long way from being commercially viable right now.

2024-06-25 20:26:15

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MOND that shows up as GR but with an extra solar system planet? That's a really precise bit of a graph?

2024-06-19 17:06:31

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"dozens of spies", "singhly hot", you've sometimes got to wonder if there isn't a very specialist school of copywriters doing this for social media clicks ;)
Odd translation errors / spelling mistakes are all part of the charm for me. But yeah, that's a lot of nads.

2024-06-19 16:57:00

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I'm a fan of odd Indian menu wordings. It's like the Indian journalism version of English ("Rapscallions Abscond Post Thievery").
Or, for that matter, the UK version of Indian food - recognisable, but...just...not...the same?

2024-06-18 16:06:16

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Anecdotes aren't data, but a shout out to my Edinburgh landlords who rented to me and various mates over 15 years at FAR below market value as they were (their words) "old school pinko socialist hippies who bought the place for peanuts in the 70s".

2024-06-07 18:30:20

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Also, why the hell is it so hard to get hold of mutton?

2024-06-07 18:28:35

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And you're totally right.

2024-06-07 17:01:40

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I realise pork isn't exactly traditional, but lamb is weirdly expensive round here (especially given our garden backs on to fields full of sheep). Wanted to try it with something cheap first, and wow, does it seem to work :)

2024-06-07 16:32:01

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3 hours in - coming out of the foil to crisp up for an hour or two. Falling apart already. Potato and aubergines in too now.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/576/286/040/803/258/original/11b5f9c56aadd28e.jpg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/576/286/164/440/825/original/96758ea42121c919.jpg

2024-06-07 15:06:21

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Of course, a Scottish tandoor has to be able to work in the rain too. Hence...
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/575/951/502/903/139/original/dd35aad2fa494f92.jpg

2024-06-07 13:28:48

And it's in. Foil wrap courtesy of a suggestion by @npub1qac…8ymz. Now the waiting game begins.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/575/567/587/326/301/original/1a11f12dfc31224b.jpg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/575/567/705/385/217/original/4028d0aa9d21d420.jpg

2024-06-04 15:47:36

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I had a colleague a year from retirement take a phone call in my prep room:
"The student said what? To a member of staff? Right, send them to see me, I'll deal with it."
Turns to me..."Geoff, what exactly is a 'milf'?"
😂

2024-06-03 21:36:53

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Also, for a lot of things, don't worry too much. Genuinely, panic and fear can cause more harm than the source. Just very quietly say "we can't be sure, so nobody goes near this", cover it up and call folk who know. And yeah, it's probably just a smoke alarm. Unless it has lots of warning signs. Then very firmly get people far away.

2024-06-03 21:32:56

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The main risk, unless it says "DROP AND RUN" (in which case drop and run), is accidentally ingesting anything.
Most alpha and beta emitters won't get through your skin, worst case scenario, skin cancer years later. Gamma emmiters you can't do much about. Distance helps with both.
But the real danger is accidentally ingesting it, even tiny amounts. Sat in your gut or lungs, that's where it does the damage.
Don't raise dust, cover it up, leave it alone, call somebody.

2024-06-03 21:28:14

Top tips from somebody with absolutely minimal training in handling radioactives, seeing as I've just seen my third hobbyist incident (yeah, probably that one, not linking to it cos I don't want to be seen to criticise, they dealt with it right as far as I can tell.)
1: Bag the suspected thing, very gently. Bag it again. Stop anyone going near it.
2: Clean your hands at the nearest available spot. A lot. A shower isn't a daft idea.
3: Phone the fire brigade. They will know who to contact.

2024-05-09 17:45:02

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I got kicked out of a bar for doing snuff once. Four or five of us in our 20s / 30s, plus a friend in his 70s, who had some snuff with him. He let us all try some, quite pleasant, although maybe not a habit to have.
Doorman comes over, who knows me, and gently explains that yes, he's sure it's all legal and fine, but they just can't have folk snorting powder at the bar, asks us to leave 😂
Fair enough, to be honest!

2024-04-24 17:10:29

Big shout out to all the cats. Helped a neighbour bury one of hers today. Crazy little bugger, broke in via our catflap once and pinballed around the kitchen until I could find him an escape route. Big mean bully who picked on our two. Today was the only time I got to give him a scritch, as I snuggled him in. Then we both had a little cry. Humans I'm generally fine with burying, pets are a problem.

2024-04-23 19:24:26

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Funnily enough, my sister in law runs her own Thai specialist shop/deli, but in Guernsey, which is a bit of a trek, whole length of Great Britain and out the other side. First time she visited I mentioned I'd never tried kimchi, and she simply leaned over and picked a large tub from her bag.

2024-04-23 19:17:31

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That's just showing off. Next you'll be telling me they'll sell you a loaf of bread pre-sliced.

2024-04-23 19:05:38

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I like a challenge...and gram flour is a challenge round here! But I'll bear it in mind, ta!

2024-04-23 17:07:47

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Never tried it, one for the to-make list! There's a specialist south asian food shop about an hour from here, last time I was in I picked up an aubergine chutney....wow, OK, I'll allow that. Almost like the filling for fig roll biscuits here (fig newtons for the US). Great as an ingredient too.

2024-04-23 16:52:27

Fresh coriander sprinkled on something as a herb garnish...meh.
Fresh coriander treated as a vegetable, diced up stalks and all, and cooked with, oh yes.
Fight me... 😋

2024-04-19 12:43:53

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This is what I (roughly) followed: https://thecurrykid.co.uk/how-to-build-a-tandoor-oven-at-home-for-under-50/
Top tips:
Vermiculite is cheaper than perlite.
I was overambitious with the size of the pots compared to bin. You don't want it rising much beyond the top, and the further the wide point is from the bin wall the better the insulation.
Diamond dremel cutting wheel is good for cutting the pot.
Wood works, but soots. Charcoal is cleaner and hotter.

2024-04-18 18:10:18

Tandoor on the go again tonight. Hot chicken thighs, and tikka veg, potato, cauliflower, aubergine and red peppers. I've found a second way of cooking aubergine that I like (the first being baba ganoush).