2022-09-07 00:18:06 how should I implement colon words in C? 2022-09-07 00:18:19 I'm seriously thinking in making them a string xD 2022-09-07 00:18:34 words inside could read the "source code" of a colon word 2022-09-07 00:18:59 but doesn't look very nice 2022-09-07 00:19:48 atm I only have the stack https://termbin.com/ily1 2022-09-07 00:20:05 it can take any kind of type, it's a void ** pointer 2022-09-07 00:20:42 the free_stack function is supposed to traverse the stack and look for types that were created with malloc 2022-09-07 00:35:31 int and malloc, what could go wrong 2022-09-07 11:52:14 You know, here is a pet peeve of mine. I'm brushing up on my chemistry, and one of the things chemists do is "balance equations.' In a correct equation you have the same number of atoms of each element on both sides of the equation, and you have to figure out how many molecules of each reactant and product will achieve that. 2022-09-07 11:52:32 I have NEVER SEEN a chemistry book or class that presents this as anything other than a trial and error process. 2022-09-07 11:53:05 One day years after college I suddenly tumbled to the fact that you can write a set of simultaneous algebra equations and solve it using any of the usual methods to get the answer. 2022-09-07 11:53:25 My jaw just dropped. I do NOT understand why they don't present that as part of the standard training. 2022-09-07 11:53:48 This book I'm studying from now just presented it as trial and error. 2022-09-07 11:54:07 But it would be pretty straightforward to write a Python program to balance any equation. 2022-09-07 11:54:09 wtf 2022-09-07 11:55:04 I'd be happy if you could tell me using linear algebra was taught to you as part of your chemistry training. At least then I could think that the WHOLE world isn't stupid. 2022-09-07 11:56:57 some Math 308 stuff was handy to solve a tricky Physics 103 problem. luckily I was taking the courses at the same time 2022-09-07 11:58:30 (also sometimes chemistry and physics are used to screen out folks from the desirable EE or CSE programs) 2022-09-07 12:10:58 Well, this peeve relates very specifically to chemistry equation balancing. In my experience physics training does a pretty good job of discussing the proper math tools. 2022-09-07 12:43:09 I'm frequently astounded by the things that are missing from primary, secondary and third level education curriculums over there. We take them for granted over here, but colleagues from North America have often surprised me by missing some of this stuff. 2022-09-07 12:43:58 That said, I've seen some modern day third level curriculums over here, and they also leave much to be desired. 2022-09-07 12:44:09 Imagine a comp sci course with any mathematics. 2022-09-07 12:57:22 Our education system is a real mess. 2022-09-07 12:58:21 My college studies were in engineering. Learned a lot of stuff, but one thing I was never given FORMAL training in was dimensional analysis. We certainly picked up the basics by "osmosis" - stuff like checking units to make sure an equation was right, and so on. 2022-09-07 12:59:02 But I learned later that there's a lot more to dimensional analysis than that, and my impression is that up at least through the middle of the 20th century it was taught explicitly in tech programs. 2022-09-07 12:59:17 Things like re-writing equations in terms of dimensionless parameters and so on. 2022-09-07 12:59:29 I found a realy good pdf file on it once, but I've somehow let it get away from me. 2022-09-07 12:59:52 That just strikes me as something that should absolutely be included iin a technical curriculum. 2022-09-07 13:00:54 that dimensionless parameter thing has direct value - it can reduce the number of parameters you need to sweep over when doing numerical modeling. 2022-09-07 13:01:35 Because you might find that two or three of your physical parameters happen to combine to form a dimensionless parameter, so three variables becomes one. 2022-09-07 13:02:09 It's not rocket science or anything, but it just felt valuable to me. 2022-09-07 13:02:53 I also think thermodynamics is under-emphasized, at least in some branches of engineering. 2022-09-07 13:03:13 That's kind of a "universal science" - I think it should always there in a tech field too. 2022-09-07 13:03:41 Chemical engineering still covers it of course, but I wasn't put through a thermo class for my EE degree. 2022-09-07 14:55:04 KipIngram: I remember being quite upset at my HS chem education when I learned there was more to stoichiometry than trial-and-error.. 2022-09-07 14:56:55 Like, sure, for the simple ones, building a matrix would be overkill... 2022-09-07 14:57:32 https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1986/11/26 2022-09-07 15:00:05 Sure - many of them you can "see" without too much trouble. And eventually you can figure most all of them out, but some of them get kind of fancy. 2022-09-07 15:10:12 thrig: I do love some good almost-believable fake answer gags :D 2022-09-07 15:13:45 theres a version of this meme where they have just the entire formula pasted in there 2022-09-07 23:40:52 My best "gag answer" thing was extended over years. For a lot of years I drove constantly between Houston and Austin (to see / pick up / drop off my oldest two daughters from my first marriage). Many of those times my current wife and some subset of our kids were along for the rid.e 2022-09-07 23:41:21 About halfway in between, near a place called Lagrange, there's a great big electrical generation plant, set a mile or so off from the highway on a hill. 2022-09-07 23:41:48 It had these huge stacks that it used to emit steam. So there was practically always white steam billowing out of those. 2022-09-07 23:42:14 One of the younger girls, when she was pretty little, asked me what it was, and in a flash of inspiration I told her that's where they made clouds. 2022-09-07 23:42:33 This became a running thing that each new daughter got when she was the right age, with the older ones then "in on it." 2022-09-07 23:42:58 We've had a lot of laughs over the years re: the "cloud factory." 2022-09-07 23:43:23 Visually, it was a very believable thing. 2022-09-07 23:45:48 Oh, for those of you who've heard of the play/movie Lagrange is where the real "Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" was. 2022-09-07 23:47:10 Wait - that may not be right. it may be some other story I'm remembering that was in Lagrange. 2022-09-07 23:48:03 Actually it does look right - it's confirmed here: 2022-09-07 23:48:05 https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/chicken-ranch 2022-09-07 23:49:13 This is the power plant, much as it looks from the highway: 2022-09-07 23:49:15 https://alchetron.com/cdn/fayette-power-project-45be5b2d-a757-40b3-b5d8-075f4866ef4-resize-750.jpg 2022-09-07 23:49:34 It was better when the sky was nice a blue behind it.