...a nice calculation

Distance to horizon in miles = 1.23 * sqrt(Ht_of_Eyes_in_ft)

Of course height of eyes is supposed to be height above a level surface stretching to the horizon, like the sea or a plain. I think I read this one in the Amateur Scientist column of Scientific American years ago... or perhaps it was one of the incarnations of that magazine's Mathematical Games column.

It is probably only meant to be rough. I mean the horizon would be closer at the equator than the poles because the Earth is bloated out around the equator due to its rotation. I wonder if it would make much difference.

It is a lovely thought, though, that you might be able to calculate the distance to the horizon knowing only your own height.

What was is before is was is? Is was was.

:)

snail mail :)

..................................._@/

to understand recursion, you must first understand recursion

...and with that last silly thought for the night I'm off to bed (which I should have done hours ago).

stating the obvious to the ironically deaf music industry:

This little gem can be found at http://www.netimperative.com/cmn/viewdoc.jsp?cat=all&docid=BEP1_News_0000054857&eventtype=newsletterlink

Research shows internet boosts album sales

London, July 9 2003, (netimperative)

by Susie Harwood

Illegal downloading of music over the internet may actually encourage music fans to buy more albums on CD, according to a new report from market research firm Music Programming Ltd (MPL).

The survey, carried out among 500 British fans aged 13-45 with internet access, opposes the widely adopted view by the music industry that file swapping networks such as Kaaza that encourage illegal music downloading, are responsible for the slump in CD album sales, which have fallen 5% over the last year.

While 91% of survey respondents admitted to downloading music tracks over the internet, 87% said that they then went on to buy the full album on CD.

The survey also said 41% of its respondents declared themselves as "heavy downloaders" - accessing more than 100 tracks - but that 34% of them still felt they bought more albums than they did a year ago.

Asked why they download music, the respondents were most likely to say it was "to check out music I've heard about but not listened to yet" (75%) and "to help me decide whether to buy the CD" (66%).

However, the survey does suggest the demise of the single, with just 13% of respondents saying that they would buy a single after downloading that particular song. CD singles sales are already 42% down year-on-year.

MPL believes the survey results reveal that people use the internet as a way of finding out about new music but are still interested in maintaining a CD collection, and that the industry should use it as a way of promoting new artists.

www.musicprogramming.com