The small questions thread

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altered-ego
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#3483787 24-Apr-2026 17:28

Behodar:

ANglEAUT:

South Africa, the samoosa

A South African at work calls them "samoosas", pronounced as if it had an extra O, and we always just considered that to be one of her own idiosyncrasies. Is that a common pronunciation in SA, or did you just make a typo?

No typo

Dictionary of South African English

South Africa Info

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MadEngineer

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#3483891 25-Apr-2026 14:13

Handsomedan:

Why are human bodies so fragile and complicated?
So many points of failure...

I wouldn't in general say that we're so fragile. We're lucky to be able to live longer than 30 years. Not as "tough" as apes, I suppose, but we've traded brawn for brains. I would say however that as we age we may over estimate our abilities or forget to take due care.

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johno1234

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#3483899 25-Apr-2026 14:50

MadEngineer:

Handsomedan:

Why are human bodies so fragile and complicated?
So many points of failure...

I wouldn't in general say that we're so fragile. We're lucky to be able to live longer than 30 years. Not as "tough" as apes, I suppose, but we've traded brawn for brains. I would say however that as we age we may over estimate our abilities or forget to take due care.

We evolved to last around 40 years so things like cancer never factored. Getting eaten by a sabre toothed tiger got you before old age or cancer back in the day.

PolicyGuy

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#3483905 25-Apr-2026 15:48

johno1234:
MadEngineer:
I wouldn't in general say that we're so fragile. We're lucky to be able to live longer than 30 years. Not as "tough" as apes, I suppose, but we've traded brawn for brains. I would say however that as we age we may over estimate our abilities or forget to take due care.

We evolved to last around 40 years so things like cancer never factored. Getting eaten by a sabre toothed tiger got you before old age or cancer back in the day.

Thinking more recently, when I joined the workforce in the 1970s, people retired at 60 and if they got to seventy-two it was regarded as "a pretty good innings": hardly anybody got to eighty. Now when I see a death notice for someone dying in their seventies, I think "poor guy, pretty young to die". Thanks to hugely improved medicine, better diet**, and hardly any smoking or second-hand smoke, we're living long enough to die of things that were either latent or unheard of seventy years ago, let alone in 1800.

gzt

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#3483960 26-Apr-2026 11:20

My iPhone does not charge with a usb-c lightning adaptor on my usb-c 60w pd port. The iPhone charges with the same adaptor and iPhone on a generic usb-c slow charger.

Is this caused by a crappy usb-c lightning connector, or fixable with a better connector, or something else?

Tinkerisk

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#3484451 26-Apr-2026 18:28

gzt: My iPhone does not charge with a usb-c lightning adaptor on my usb-c 60w pd port. The iPhone charges with the same adaptor and iPhone on a generic usb-c slow charger.

Is this caused by a crappy usb-c lightning connector, or fixable with a better connector, or something else?

Your USB-C adapter plug apparently isn't passing on all the communication (mode agreement) to the PD port, and as a precaution, it's not supplying any power at all.

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Eva888

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#3484779 27-Apr-2026 19:29

Someone I know diagnosed with Cancer and been in hospital for weeks. Want to send him something rather than visit as don’t want to impose while family around him. Chocolates and sweets are a no. Any suggestions for a small useful present I can drop off? Male around mid fifties. Brain is drawing blanks. Females are so much easier to buy for.

caffynz

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#3484780 27-Apr-2026 19:31

Eva888:

Someone I know diagnosed with Cancer and been in hospital for weeks. Want to send him something rather than visit as don’t want to impose while family around him. Chocolates and sweets are a no. Any suggestions for a small useful present I can drop off? Male around mid fifties. Brain is drawing blanks. Females are so much easier to buy for.

Are they up to doing word/number puzzles or anything like that?

SepticSceptic

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#3484891 27-Apr-2026 22:32

Eva888:

Someone I know diagnosed with Cancer and been in hospital for weeks. Want to send him something rather than visit as don’t want to impose while family around him. Chocolates and sweets are a no. Any suggestions for a small useful present I can drop off? Male around mid fifties. Brain is drawing blanks. Females are so much easier to buy for.

If I was in a similar unfortunate position, depending on his interests

Books - easy read action novels, along the lines of Clive Cussler or Wilbur Smith

Metal art kits - these are laser cut stainless steel sheets, well priced, available from Aliexpress and other places.

An Arduino exploration kit, so I can brush up on.my sorely lacking programming skills.

Some kind of diamond stick on artwork thing. This is where you stick on tiny weeny gems onto a printed pattern.

Ditto cross stitch.

Things that are not too mentally taxing, but sufficient to be a bit of a diversion .

djtOtago

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#3484920 28-Apr-2026 09:33

Eva888:

Someone I know diagnosed with Cancer and been in hospital for weeks. Want to send him something rather than visit as don’t want to impose while family around him. Chocolates and sweets are a no. Any suggestions for a small useful present I can drop off? Male around mid fifties. Brain is drawing blanks. Females are so much easier to buy for.

I would go and see him. It is very likely he will be happy to see a different face that is not family, and have some non family conversation.

johno1234

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#3484922 28-Apr-2026 09:38

djtOtago:

Eva888:

Someone I know diagnosed with Cancer and been in hospital for weeks. Want to send him something rather than visit as don’t want to impose while family around him. Chocolates and sweets are a no. Any suggestions for a small useful present I can drop off? Male around mid fifties. Brain is drawing blanks. Females are so much easier to buy for.

I would go and see him. It is very likely he will be happy to see a different face that is not family, and have some non family conversation.

Agree. Most people stuck in hospital get bored and really appreciate visits that are not too long. Take some snacks.

MikeAqua

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#3484963 28-Apr-2026 11:16

Handsomedan:

Why are human bodies so fragile and complicated?
So many points of failure...

0) There is no overall design intent, stuff has just evolved. See "Blind Watchmaker" argument

1) Our bodies comprise many complex systems, many of which are adaptations of system in more primitive organisms

2) Natural selection usually results "good enough" solutions, not optimised solutions.

3) From an evolutionary perspective, we aren't that old. For comparison, sharks and bivalves predate trees.

Mike

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#3484965 28-Apr-2026 11:20

MikeAqua:

0)

1)

2)

3)

Appropriate for this "Small questions thread": why would anyone start a list from zero?

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MadEngineer

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#3485643 29-Apr-2026 19:15

Some of us like to be different

You're not on Atlantis anymore, Duncan Idaho.

k1w1k1d

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#3485650 29-Apr-2026 20:32

Starting with 0 was something I had to get used to when programming PLC's.

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