Archived Posts for June 2009

The Train Problem

What keeps train wheels on a track? When a train rounds a bend, the outer wheels have to travel a further distance than the inner wheels, and therefore the outer wheels have to spin at a quicker rate to cover that distance than the inner wheels cover. The problem is that pairs of wheels on a train are connected by a solid metal axle, so the wheels can’t spin at different rates. So, how does it work?

Richard Feynman explains.

  10:10am (GMT -7.00)  •  Science & Technology  •  Tweet This  •  Add a comment  • 

Too soon?

Some Michael Jackson humour: CSI’s take on it. Oh, Wikipedia…. This isn’t funny, but its ironic.

  11:21pm (GMT -7.00)  •  Music  •  Tweet This  •  Add a comment  • 

BarBri blues

Studying for the California Bar Exam is a drag, to say the least (but I must say the lecturers are all well chosen… quirky, yes, but for the most part entertaining). Anyway, I just got this email which for some reason I found more amusing than I probably should. The workbook in question is well over 1000 pages.

Hi guys,

In case any of you were sick of carrying around the huge in-class workbook
but didn’t want to deal with tearing out the perforated pages one by one
(wasn’t tearing out the answer sheets bad enough?), I thought I’d share this
trick with you:

1. Microwave (yes, microwave) the book for about 2.5 minutes.
2. Pull the pages out one or two at a time. You can do this quickly by just
pinching a corner and tugging, then reaching under for the next page — no
need to move the top pages aside one at a time. The pages should come out
easily and cleanly, at least after the first few.
3. Every 30-50 pages or so, or when you start getting more resistance,
microwave for another 30 seconds.

The key is softening the glue in the binding. Instead of a microwave, you
could also apply an iron to the spine, but I’ve never tried that way, so I
have no further advice. It does save you from dealing with hot pages,
though.

If you are concerned about damaging the book or setting it on fire, I would
recommend experimenting first with the Multistate Primer or Multistate
Preview books.

P.S. This knowledge owes nothing to my science background and everything to
the domestic Japanese comics industry.

Setting your book on fire. Try explaining that one to the fire department. “Yeah, I was trying to microwave my book. I detested BarBri that much.”

  7:01pm (GMT -7.00)  •  Law  •  Tweet This  •  Add a comment  •