March 22 2024, 13:05

At the age of 10, I came up with the design for a submarine with torpedoes, and only at 46 did I learn that 1) torpedoes on submarines predominantly use electric motors and this has been the case for about 70-90 years. For example, the USET-80 torpedo is powered by an electric motor, fed by a copper-magnesium battery, activated by seawater. 2) It turns out that the typical guidance method still involves an unwinding wire. Well, it’s clear why—interference protection, stealth, etc. For instance, the last long-term construction project “Physicist”/”Case” has a spool of wire 25km long. There are discussions about Western developments, where the distance can be 50-70 km, but the wires are not ordinary, they are fiber optic.

March 19 2024, 12:01

I got to thinking. Could it be that hypothetically, hundreds of thousands / millions of years ago, significant DNA mutations occurred simply more frequently, and a hypothetical mammoth in the next generation bred offspring with changes (from which most died, but the survivors passed on) and these changes were more likely and significant than similar ones today in modern elephants? I don’t know, maybe due to chemical, radioactive, or other factors. I’d like to hear the opinion of those knowledgeable about this.

My second thought – if external factors influence how an organism forms, could it be that hypothetically all fish grow horns if the chemical composition of their habitat changes miraculously? This is a joke, of course, but the idea is that can a change in the environment provoke a global change in the translation of genetic information, bringing dormant genes to the surface across the whole population sharing this environment?

March 17 2024, 21:59

— What kind of beer would you like?

— Just a beer, please.

— Okay, here’s just a beer.

Label in small letters: “beer that tastes like beer”

By the way, in a typical US beer menu, there’s usually a choice between IPA (India Pale Ale), lager, and everything else (ales, stouts). Before moving to the US, I had never heard of IPA. The name “India Pale Ale” is linked to the history of British colonies in India, where more hops were added to the beer to preserve it during long sea voyages. Essentially, it’s towards the craftier side, and stronger than lager. Yes, and the typical sizes are a pint (about 473 ml) or a 330 ml can. But if I’m having beer, I almost always go for a Stout, ideally Guinness. Except for yesterday and today. Because yesterday and today, everywhere that had something Irish had lines almost like at noon at polling stations.

Generally, I barely drink beer. I’ve switched it for red wine, which just somehow doesn’t go down more than one glass for several days.