Slow News Week?
El Reg - I got to hand it to you, you manage to get an IT angle into everything! Amazon shopping fill all holes.
Cops looking for mum marauding uni campus asking students if they fancy dating her son
The relationship between mother and son is a strange one. Sigmund Freud's "Oedipus complex" made all of psychology awkward, and mums haven't helped by cherishing and coddling their perfect little boys well into adulthood. Though Freud is somewhat discredited these days, trust dear old Ma to come out swinging with behaviour …
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Monday 11th February 2019 15:18 GMT Anonymous Coward
>The Baltimore Sun (currently not available from the EU due to its publisher's unwillingness to play ball with GDPR).
I'm in the UK and it works fine for me with a simple DNS tweak - I guess they're hoping the company they're paying for geo blocking will pick up the bill when someone who gives a monkey's takes up a case (setting 335 cookies without asking even WITH adblock enabled shouldn't prove too difficult a case either).
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Monday 11th February 2019 15:33 GMT Groaning Ninny
Such things as "no adblockers", "sign up to read" and this "because of the GDPR" mere;y cut down on the sites I use. There are plently more.
Some of those which actually ask nicely to remove the adblocker (and which don't take the mickey with the ads) get my views and the revenue that's somehow worth.
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Monday 11th February 2019 17:30 GMT Ima Ballsy
Re: "she couldn't afford the tissue consumption"
Maybe she needs to invest in this for him:
https://www.amazon.com/Passion-Lubricants-Performance-Water-Based-Lubricant/dp/B07MKS1VZY/ref=pd_sbs_121_6/133-1918164-2294401?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07MKS1VZY&pd_rd_r=3c092aa4-2e22-11e9-b82a-7d23db4f75b9&pd_rd_w=QS2i1&pd_rd_wg=iOVPT&pf_rd_p=588939de-d3f8-42f1-a3d8-d556eae5797d&pf_rd_r=KGFN30KXCQJHH9NMC4FH&psc=1&refRID=KGFN30KXCQJHH9NMC4FH
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Monday 11th February 2019 17:30 GMT ElReg!comments!Pierre
Re: Great news
I was thinking that campus cowboys are getting a tad ridiculous, but again I did not think of this angle. Although these are campus cops and not high-firepower regular cops, they still do sport pepper spray and sometimes tazers. They do tend to occasionnally over-react with those "sub-lethal" tools of theirs.
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Tuesday 12th February 2019 15:29 GMT Michael Wojcik
Re: Great news
Although these are campus cops and not high-firepower regular cops, they still do sport pepper spray and sometimes tazers.
At every university I've attended, the campus police carry firearms. And when I was at Northeastern University, the campus police cars were also equipped with shotguns; I once saw a couple of campus officers checking theirs.
Do not screw with the campus police.
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Monday 11th February 2019 15:33 GMT Anonymous Coward
garage shop
It's America -- they all have basements or garages the size of a tennis court, the sods, she won't need the Playstation space for her workshop...
It's getting to the stage that watching US woodworking videos is getting too depressing... I'm in a rented terraced house but I'm seriously considering dropping the thick end of a grand on reconcreting a crumbling patio area and installing a shed (with acoustic board lining just to be able to use a planer/thicknesser without deafening the neighbours on either side. Of course landlords - who are a nice retired couple who just want a quiet life and the rent to turn up on time - could and likely will chuck me out at some point in the next couple of years when they need to pay nursing home fees, which would of course mean good bye to the shed. Ahhhh it's a hard life, having a mid-life crisis when you failed at life & don't own a house :(
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Monday 11th February 2019 19:42 GMT Joe W
Re: garage shop
Hmpf. Except for the patio that's me, including the irritation about "yeah, it's a small shop area, only 2.5 acres" and "not too many tools, except for a table saw, band saw, thicknesser, planer, pillar drill, a lathe, mitre saw, paint booth,...". I have an English style workbench in a basement storage compartment, electric light but no power sockets. Thus hand tools only. Good for the neighbours, except when mortising :/
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Tuesday 12th February 2019 05:59 GMT jake
Re: garage shop
Not all Yanks have all that. Just some of the the ones with a shop big enough for a film crew. Seriously. Think about it.
With that said, look up Roy Underhill of The Woodwright's Shop. Worth a look for all you hand-tools only woodworkers, even if he is a Yank.
On the gripping hand, if you're low on space and want power equipment, get a Shopsmith. Even an older used one is well worth the money. I know some people look down their noses at them, but I suspect that's only because those folks don't know how to properly use it. I built my entire kitchen and dining room with a 30 year old model, after a little judicious repair work. The factory sold me all the parts I needed to restore it to "like new". Hint: Spring for the Mark 7, you'll be glad you did.
I'd recommend adding a dedicated jointer and a plainer along with the Shopsmith, just for simplicity's sake, but it's hardly necessary. A mortiser isn't necessary either, but ... You know the drill ;-)
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Tuesday 12th February 2019 15:08 GMT CrazyOldCatMan
Re: Get a Shopsmith
How am I going to explain that I need that to SWMBO?
"I had a special offer that meant I had to buy it quickly"
On second thoughts - don't use that one - that got me the cold shoulder for about 6 months when I used that excuse to explain that I'd changed my bike for a 2nd-hand Honda Fireblade.. I'd cleverly managed to do it while my parents were staying with us which limited her capabilities for ripping me a new one at high volume..
And she refused to pillion on that bike - although the fact that the pillion seat was about the size of a postage stamp might have had something to do with it.. (and that it did 0-100 in about 4 seconds - 18K RPM red-line is a wonderful thing!)
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Tuesday 12th February 2019 02:15 GMT DiViDeD
Re: garage shop
I went off those US based home renovations programmes when I saw them demonstrate how to replace a window:
"Get a window a little bigger than the old one. Remove the old window"
He then proceeded to cut a bigger hole in the wall with a bloody crosscut saw!!
Try that on a cavity wall, matey!
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Tuesday 12th February 2019 06:03 GMT jake
Re: garage shop
"US based home renovations programmes"
Take it from a Yank who has rebuilt a few old houses ... those are all entertainment shows, not educational how-to films. Not worth the time to watch them.
"Try that on a cavity wall, matey!"
Horses for courses, as usual. Would you watch a Toyota HowTo when the Perkins in your boat needed repair?
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Tuesday 12th February 2019 15:44 GMT Michael Wojcik
Re: garage shop
those are all entertainment shows, not educational how-to films
That's the beauty of Renovation Realities on DIY - it's all people screwing up horribly because they don't know what they're doing.
(Well, almost all. Once in a while they have an episode with people who do know what they're doing, and who draw permits and do everything to code, and just run into the sort of unexpected issues you always have with old homes.)
It's an educational how-not-to show.
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Tuesday 12th February 2019 05:00 GMT jake
Re: garage shop
Build your shed on concrete deck blocks (patio piers), and pick it up and move it when the time comes. It's not exactly rocket science. Or, purchase a used shipping container. Amazing how much work you can get done in an 8X20 box. Both options should easily be within your stated budget.
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Tuesday 12th February 2019 11:24 GMT phuzz
Re: garage shop
Without hiring a massive crane, how exactly does one pick up a shed from the back patio of a terraced house and move it? I'd also be pretty surprised if it was big enough for even a half sized container to fit (assuming a big crane to lift it over the house and into the garden).
Terraced houses in the UK aren't that big, and neither are their back gardens (chances are the front door opens directly onto the pavement, so there's no front garden).
Think of an area not big enough to park two cars side by side, with the only access being through the house like these.
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Saturday 23rd February 2019 00:58 GMT M.V. Lipvig
Re: garage shop
You need to buy a double decker bus to live in. Build a raisable roof on the back half and you have a workshop that shrinks down for travel as well as a rooftop deck. When you don't like the area, drive your house elsewhere. Wishing that doublendecker buses weren't such a novelty in the US because I would love to have one as a primary residence just for the rooftop deck option.
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Monday 11th February 2019 15:46 GMT Muscleguy
Had to happen
Nowadays 18 year olds are not allowed to attend university open days on their own any more, Mom and Pop have to tail along as well, including trying to get into interviews etc. My wife works in admissions and recruitments and has to field calls from parents wanting to know stuff like what mark did Jr get on the term test but have to be told that Privacy Law means they cannot be told and since Jr is over 18 they are an adult now.
So it was only a matter of time for this sort of thing to happen. Just wait until both sets of parents insist on being there for the first sexual encounter to offer tips and commentary.
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Monday 11th February 2019 17:29 GMT Mr Humbug
When my older daughter started looking at university a few years ago I was astounded that she *wanted* me to go with her to open days. When we got there I was equally surprised to find that nearly everybody else had at least one parent with them.
On the other hand, a few years later, when my (autistic) son started looking I was quite glad that having a parent with him didn't make him stand out so much at open days.
(PS. If anyone is looking for a University that is sensitive to students with additional needs, UCLan seemed very good, although he ended up going somewhere else)
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Monday 11th February 2019 21:29 GMT Waseem Alkurdi
Re: Had to happen
Just wait until both sets of parents insist on being there for the first sexual encounter to offer tips and commentary.
Something similar to this used to happen in the Middle East, despite being clearly morally wrong and opposed to the two religions (Islam and Christianity). One parent would stand behind the door while the newly-wed couple did their thing.
This practice is as dead as a zombie though, with people having grown up.
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Tuesday 12th February 2019 15:49 GMT Michael Wojcik
Re: Had to happen
One professor I know recently had a student's parent contact him before the first class session. He didn't mention what the conversation was about, but I can guess.
(It wasn't for any recognized special need. Like most US universities, the one this acquaintance works at has an office which issues visas for students with special needs and coordinates with the instructors of their classes. No reason for parents to be involved.)
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Monday 11th February 2019 16:35 GMT Anonymous Coward
My experience
1) Mum got me to deliver a parcel to the daughter of a family friend at the same college. Twice :-)
2) Mum tracked down my location and got and called it's phone number after I idly mentioned I was dating a Russian lecturer's daughter and was not home immediately after the end of term.
I made sure to tell her nothing from then onwards. Possibly just as well :-)
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Monday 11th February 2019 16:38 GMT Robert Carnegie
I can imagine something a lot more sinister.
Such as if the picture actually is of teenaged Jeff Bezos. And the lady works for the Enquirer or the CIA or something. I haven't worked out all the details of this theory, but it could involve secret filming of a date.
Or it could be a plot involving abduction and, well, horror.
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Monday 11th February 2019 21:28 GMT jake
It gets worse.
I'm seeing parents (about 45ish) showing up for their newly graduated from Uni sprog's job interview. I kid you not; I've seen this a lot in the last three or four years. Most of those were with child in tow, but half a dozen or ten or so were just a parental unit, no actual applicant. When I point out the obvious, I am met with blank stares. It's like they think this is normal. Quite surreal.
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Monday 11th February 2019 22:58 GMT PhilipN
Rent-a-parent; There's an App for that; student dating network
Got to be an actual IT angle here so it does not have to be a bootnote.
Rent-a-parent including a robotic one leads to the AI debate but there again I am old enough to pre-date the mini-skirt era. When I saw some of the Mum's (and their thighs) delivering the little kids to school I would have gladly swapped mine. (Sorry, Mum - kidding; and Freud can f*** off).
Biting the hand that feeds IT
