Re: OT: central limit theorem

On Sat, 27 Apr 2024 12:15:54 +0200, albert@spenarnc.xs4all.nl wrote:

In article <662bffdf$0$8488$882e4bbb@reader.netnews.com>,
bitrex  <user@example.net> wrote:

On 4/26/2024 3:10 PM, Don Y wrote:

On 4/26/2024 11:46 AM, bitrex wrote:

I have one of these inexpensive Ikea bookshelves for storing some of my
electronics books:
>
<https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/laiva-bookcase-black-brown-40178591/>
>
I noticed the center shelf was starting to sag a few degrees. :( The
assembly manual specifies a weight limit of 33 lbs evenly distributed
which seemed like an oddly specific number. So I weighed the books on
the shelves, which aren't particularly well organized other than to
fully fill the available space widthwise on each shelf.
>
A random assortment of hardbacks and paperbacks, some are tall and
skinny, some are short and fat. And each shelf was clocking in at 33
lbs +/- 2 lbs.
>
So I guess a heuristic for filling these shelves is just fill 'em up
then remove the heaviest book, and de-rate the center shelf by maybe
5- 10 lbs because it's unsupported by a backing.

>
Smarter move is to buy all of your texts in electronic form, before you
end up with a shitload of dead trees!
>
When I moved here (~30 yrs), I had some 80 "Xerox Paper" cartons full
of paperbacks -- not counting "text books".  (I read ~500pp/wk)  Take
a moment to think of that volume (let alone MASS!).
>
I eventually scanned everything with a Perfect Binding and now fit those
same books on a single microSD card (in a Nook; PDFs on a 12" tablet).

>
PDFs are a dreadful format! Maybe there's a high-end e-ink that
processes them effectively but they look like shit on the cheaper ones
like most of the Kindles with e-ink displays.

>
PDF's are fearful. It is under control of one company, Adobe.
It is changed without notice. I regret the change away from PostScript
that at least was defined.
>
Groetjes Albert

I don't run any Adobe software. I run several programs that export
PDFs, and a viewer/virtual printer program handles the rest. Firefox
will view PDFs too.

PDFs look good and are a good way to deliver manuals and such.