L. Marcus Posted May 6, 2009 Report Share Posted May 6, 2009 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER And one loss of magnitude of power loses about two thirds of detection distance. Right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted May 6, 2009 Report Share Posted May 6, 2009 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER Since intensity falls off as 1/r^2, a factor of 10 in intensity can be produced by a simple increase in distance by a factor of sqrt(10). But in this case the issue is something else. If you've got a detector whose channels (and by "channels" here, spread the radiation out by frequency, chop it into equally-large, contiguous intervals of frequency ... those intervals are channels) are optimally wide with respect to the power being radiated by the source ... then you've got all the signal power in a couple of channels which will show up with very nice contrast against the surrounding channels which contain the much smaller amount of power that's in the background noise (which always exists). If your detector channels are much narrower in frequency than the spectrum emitted by the source, then all the source power gets spread out over many channels and the contrast between the source and the background noise is lower. Now, you can co-add channels back together, but unless you have a perfect detector you are adding detector noise in there too and not gaining as much as you would hope. If your detector channels are much wider than the signal, then the total amount of noise in each channel can overwhelm the power in the signal and again the signal doesn't stand out. Artificial signals (analog TV, FM radio, old radar) have scads of power in a narrow central carrier frequency, so that if the telescope channel width is well-matched to the carrier width, it sticks out nicely and can be detected most of the way across the Galaxy. But if you don't know what frequency that signal is, or its bandwidth, to start with, search for such signals is a long, difficult business. And with digital TV and new radar, the bandwidths are much broader (so contrast is lower) and much less total power gets emitted from the source. Both of those reduce the detectability of the signals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted May 11, 2009 Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER And yesterday, a new momcat and three kittens. Mom is nearly pure white, with impressive gold eyes. She has a couple dozen dark grey hairs on her skullcap between her ears. Two of the three kittens are marked the same, though the grey is more apparent with the young'uns (you notice it from across the room, which you don't with mom). Third kitten is black. Mom is very clearly used to people and is comfortable in a house. The kittens are still skittish. They are quite young; eyes are fully open (but still infant blue) but still a little wobbly on their feet. One of them, though, started working on kitten crunchies when I put some out this morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocMan Posted May 12, 2009 Report Share Posted May 12, 2009 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER She birthed the spawn of basement cat? Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted May 12, 2009 Report Share Posted May 12, 2009 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER Maybe, but the odds are low. I mean, we had five of 'em a few months ago, so our odds are only 1/5 as great of it being the case now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocMan Posted May 12, 2009 Report Share Posted May 12, 2009 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER Well, are they cute fuzzy balls of seething evil? Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted May 12, 2009 Report Share Posted May 12, 2009 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER Not that we noticed. Of course, we have two black cats permanently in residence already, so perhaps we've already had the mind control installed and we are incapable of noticing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemming Posted May 12, 2009 Report Share Posted May 12, 2009 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER we've gotten a few kittens in the last couple weeks. Here's Bandito: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Posted May 13, 2009 Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted May 14, 2009 Report Share Posted May 14, 2009 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER I'll try to download and resize pics of the new batch this weekend when I need a break from grading exams, and upload those on Monday. The momcat is just an insanely nice cat. Clearly there's things she wants that we aren't doing (I expect she wants to sleep on the bed) but it doesn't seem to occur to her that humans might hurt her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER Rained like crazy almost all night. To top that off, a black bear was discovered in town, seems to be yet uncaptured, and they've been tracking it (badly). I seems to have passed within 4-5 blocks of my house, though if the tracking data is correct it has moved further away off toward my brother's place. EDIT: looking at the chart with the sightings ... it could well have been rather closer to our place than 4-5 blocks. Cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemming Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER It looked like it was going to rain yesterday, but I think it skirted on by. Another kitten. He just got fixed yesterday, so he'll be going with me on an adoption event at the end of the month. Cancer, how are the kitten adoptions going for your group? We've been slow with cats in the areas we've been working in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER Is that kitteh a mime? It looks as though he's trapped in a glass box . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER I don't have direct knowledge of the adoption rate, but we went a couple months without being contacted about fostering any, either. Even a couple weeks ago, when my wife called and asked if they had any, there were only two sets in looking to be fostered. So it's been low on the supply side, so to speak, at least from what little information I've had. The quintet of all black kittens, three of which had folded ears, all got adopted within 24 hours of when we took them back to the shelter. That was a couple months back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemming Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER I don't have direct knowledge of the adoption rate, but we went a couple months without being contacted about fostering any, either. Even a couple weeks ago, when my wife called and asked if they had any, there were only two sets in looking to be fostered. So it's been low on the supply side, so to speak, at least from what little information I've had. The quintet of all black kittens, three of which had folded ears, all got adopted within 24 hours of when we took them back to the shelter. That was a couple months back. Huh. I wonder if it's a Seattle wide thing about kittens. Maybe your Spay/Neuter programs are being effective. Las Vegas/Phoenix are currently being overrun by kittens because of people abandoning cats that aren't fixed. Of course it could also be that your kitten season is just hitting. We're starting to see kittens here and while we have an aggressive Spay/Neuter program, it's a pain to get past some of the rural mentality here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER I have the impression that our kitten season is just starting. Of the two we had to choose from, the one we have is almost certainly an escape. The momcat makes it through doors with great alacrity, so much so I do the "cat lock" trick: we keep kittens & mom in the master bath, and the only entry to that is through the master bedroom. I close the bedroom door before opening the door to bath so mom doesn't zip out into the main part of the house. That said, it doesn't seem to occur to mom that humans might hurt her. She purrs for everyone, she comes to you and talks, and I have yet to see her swat at anything except unambiguous toys. The other option was a mom that was known to be an abused animal, and after having dealt with a similar one a while back (that ended up getting into an inaccessible place from which my wife had to pull her, ending up with bites for it) we didn't want to deal with that package again. We did socialize the kittens successfully, and adopted one (Hobbes) ourselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemming Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER I think ours started earlier, but we had a pretty rough winter which cuts down on the early litters. Vegas and Phoenix would start earlier though I think they never had a stop this year. This year is going to be rough in that our budgets have been ruthlessly slashed, so we're having to come up with some creative ideas. And it doesn't help that we have about 740 adult cats, most of which need homes as well. And we have an ideal population number of 500. We're only up to 24 kittens so far, but most of those came in one week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER It's been a wet, cold, late spring up here. It never gets cold here except on a relative basis, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archermoo Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER As an aside, I'm somewhat torn on the use of the term "adoption" when referring to pets. On the one hand, to my mind a pet is something that you own. Adoption is something you do with a person, not a pet. On the other hand owning an animal isn't the same as owning an inanimate object. If using the term "adoption" helps people keep in mind both the rights AND responsibilities that having a pet entails then I suppose the bad is outweighed by the good. And of course the fact that there is also an adoption contract involved makes it make even more sense. It just seems an odd word usage to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemming Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER I think we went from Winter to Summer in one jump here. 95 right now, but storms on the horizon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemming Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER On the terms of adoption and owner. We actually don't like the terms owner, since we expect that any animal we adopt out to have some rights. We put a lifetime commitment to the animal, so we prefer guardian. Pets aren't owned, they're a family member. That's how I feel about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archermoo Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER On the terms of adoption and owner. We actually don't like the terms owner, since we expect that any animal we adopt out to have some rights. We put a lifetime commitment to the animal, so we prefer guardian. Pets aren't owned, they're a family member. That's how I feel about it. Understandable. I just don't see a pet being owned meaning that they have no rights. Hence my statement about the rights and responsibilities of pet ownership. But as there are quite a number of people that don't seem to get that I can certainly see your point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemming Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER Understandable. I just don't see a pet being owned meaning that they have no rights. Hence my statement about the rights and responsibilities of pet ownership. But as there are quite a number of people that don't seem to get that I can certainly see your point. Well, it's a bit of PC Speak, but it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beowulf Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER Well' date=' it's a bit of PC Speak, but it works. [/quote'] yea, I kind of refused to use that phrasing for just that reason, but in the end I like my pets better than many people, including some relatives. Thing is though, having kids, the pets are in a clear and firm second place. push comes to shove, such as dire financial conditions and the pets go. Here is to hoping that never ever happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemming Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Re: Longest Running Thread EVER We've been getting a lot of that. The good ones who adopted from us, contact us first, like we asked them to. The ones that dump them in city parks or take them to the local high kill shelter, I'm not fond of. Thankfully, all our animals are chipped on the way out and we're first on the list to contact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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