Double Act
A double act, also known as a comedy duo, is a comic device in which humor is derived from the uneven relationship between two partners, usually of the same gender, age, ethnic origin, and profession, but drastically different personalities. Often one of them, the straight man, feed or stooge is portrayed as reasonable and serious, and the other one, the funny man or comic is portrayed as funny, unintelligent or unorthodox. When a woman is in the “straight man” role, she is more often referred to as a comic foil. The term feed comes from the way a straight man will set up jokes for – or “feed” them to – their partner.
Despite the names given to the roles, the “straight man” need not necessarily be humorless, and it is not always the comic who provides the act’s humor. Sometimes, it is the straight man who gets the laughs through his or her sarcastic reactions to the comics antics, as was often the case with Stewart Lee’s deadpan, reasoned reactions to Richard Herring’s more ridiculous antics in their pairing. Where the “straight man” serves no personal comedic purpose but acts as a device to make the “comic” look good, they are known as a “Stooge”. This is sometimes considered a derogatory term.
Most often, however, the humor in a double act comes from the way the two personalities play off each other rather than the individuals themselves; in many successful acts the roles are interchangeable. It is no coincidence therefore that double acts are usually portrayed as close friends and that the comedians are often close in real life. However, tensions could often lead to the pairings falling out – Dudley Moore ended his partnership with Peter Cook by walking out on the final Derek and Clive recording, and Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball, at the height of their success, did not speak to each other off stage – though the respective pairings later repaired their relationships. Similarly, American duo Abbott and Costello ended their career despising each other, as did British acts Rob Newman and David Baddiel and brothers Mike and Bernie Winters.
Emulsion & Emulsifier
An emulsion is a mixture of two immiscible (unblendable) substances. One substance (the dispersed phase) is dispersed in the other (the continuous phase). Examples of emulsions include butter and margarine, espresso, mayonnaise, the photo-sensitive side of photographic film, and cutting fluid for metal working. In butter and margarine, a continuous liquid phase surrounds droplets of water (water-in-oil emulsion). Emulsification is the process by which emulsions are prepared.
An emulsifier (also known as an emulgent) is a substance which stabilizes an emulsion, frequently a surfactant. Examples of food emulsifiers are egg yolk (where the main emulsifying chemical is the phospholipid lecithin), and mustard, where a variety of chemicals in the mucilage surrounding the seed hull act as emulsifiers; proteins and low-molecular weight emulsifiers are common as well. In some cases, particles can stabilize emulsions as well through a mechanism called Pickering stabilization. Both mayonnaise and hollandaise sauce are oil-in-water emulsions that are stabilized with egg yolk lecithin. Detergents are another class of surfactant, and will chemically interact with both oil and water, thus stabilising the interface between oil or water droplets in suspension. This principle is exploited in soap to remove grease for the purpose of cleaning. A wide variety of emulsifiers are used in pharmacy to prepare emulsions such as creams and lotions.
Snowflake formation can emit radio
Snowflake formation can emit radio waves. As it freezes, the molecules are locked together in the crystal formation and can release their energy as radio waves. Totally wicked.
[0712.2564] Freezing of Water and Crystals Formation: Double Electric Layer, Radio Emission, Dendrites, Snowflakes[via]
Tartar Sauce
Tartar sauce is a thick white sauce made from mayonnaise and finely chopped pickled cucumber, capers, onions (or chives), and fresh parsley. Chopped hard-boiled eggs, olives, and horseradish are sometimes added, and Dijon mustard is often used as an emulsifier if the mayonnaise is made from scratch. It is frequently used to season fried seafood dishes. It can also be made by mixing commercially produced relish and mayonnaise. Vinegar can be added for a sharper flavor. The sauce is typically of a rough consistency.
Not related to cream of tartar.
Cream of Tartar (Potassium Bitartrate)
Potassium bitartrate (potassium hydrogen tartrate), has formula KC4H5O6. It is a byproduct of winemaking. It is also known as cream of tartar. It is the potassium acid salt of tartaric acid.
Potassium bitartrate crystallizes in wine casks during the fermentation of grape juice. In wines bottled before they are fully ripe, argol can precipitate on the side of the bottle in a sort of crust, thus forming what is called “crusted wine”.
This crude form known as beeswing is collected and purified to produce the white, odorless, acidic powder used for many culinary and other household purposes.
In food, potassium bitartrate is used for:
- Stabilizing egg whites, increasing their heat tolerance and volume
- Preventing sugar syrups from crystallising
- Reducing discolouration of boiled vegetables
- Frequent combination with baking soda which needs an acid ingredient to activate it in formulations of baking powder.
- Commonly used in combination with potassium chloride in sodium-free salt substitutes
En passant – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
En passant from French: “in [the pawns] passing” is a special move in the board game of chess. En passant is a capture made immediately after a player moves a pawn two squares forward from its starting position, and an opposing pawn could have captured it if it had only moved one square forward. In this situation, the opposing pawn may, on the immediately subsequent move, capture the pawn as if it had only moved one square forward; the resulting position would then be the same as if the pawn had only moved one square forward and the opposing pawn had captured normally. En passant must be done on the very next turn, or the right to do so is lost.
One Geometry
When your Ricci flow stops at one geometry, one geometry, one geometry
If every loop contracts there’s no topology, no topology, no topology
So Poincare’s correct in dimension three, in dimension three, in dimension three
He’s just an unemployed don who’s living with his mom
But his name is Perelman and he’s got it going on!
This math rap is Perelman’s proof of the Poincaré conjecture to the tune of Snoop Dogg and Pharrell William’s “Drop it Like it’s Hot.” I still like “What You Know About Math” better. . .