Posts by Fink-Nottle

> How can they offer ownership if they don't have sovereignty?

The space-age equivalent of few smallpox infected blankets will take care of that problem.

Re: "In 1983 when I was 10 years old"

> Yes, I went to university in 1987 and used VT220s connected to VAXen. My first thought when I got there was: when are we going to use some *real* computers?

I was at a South African university in the 70's. They ran a closed shop, meaning first year students weren't allowed anywhere near the mainframe. The closest we ever got to a computer was an IBM keypunch used to prep a deck of punch cards. These were submitted to the computer operator and run whenever he could be arsed. Everyone sucked up to the operator.

It was a revelation when I started work in the 80's and my boss let me take home an HP85 to tinker on in my spare time. I remember it fondly - HP Basic, assembly and creating elaborate prank programs to spring on unsuspecting co-workers.

Re: @Frumious Bandersnatch but I never knew he was such a good spinner of yarns."

> But, most of all, he stood up for engineers, repeatedly pointing out how essential they were to modern society.

As a dedicated Freemason, Kipling certainly drew the analogy between the engineer's place in modern society and the Masonic order.

Re: Only in India

In Torquay it would be called Fatty Owls

Re: Splitting water without leccy?

> Creating glaciers is possibly not the most efficient means of doing so!

No, but it adds a Slartibartfastian grandeur to the process.

Re: Required reading

Here's a salutary lesson on how not to do it.

Re: Could they be...

Wormsign

Re: What's wrong with good old fashioned

> In spite of all the A* grades many teenagers seem relatively poorly educated by the school system.

They're certainly ill-equipped to keep their zebras safe from crocodiles.

Re: People who use adblockers...

... sign up now to GoCompare's new ad blocker comparison site.

Re: OOh Holiday...

Be warned - Jeremy Clarkson went there and look what happened to him ...

Re: Double edged sword...

> It certainly has great promise for spinal injuries

I've often wondered why there aren't more exo-devices for people with spinal injuries that affect the upper limbs. You'd think it'd be an easier project than fitting an amputee with a whole new arm.

> How long until a company patents the 5 senses?

Thing is, what we generally lump together as touch - the skin senses - are in fact a complex array of different sensory receptors positioned at varying depths in the skin. Not the easiest thing to duplicate.

And, of course, certain groups would claim prior art ...

Re: That "Thunderstorm" you just heard...

> Since you can't reach the drone by hand, blowing it away is a perfectly reasonable reaction instead.

Perfectly reasonable ... if you don't mind spending the next 20 years in prison. The FAA considers a drone to be a civil aircraft and - for some strange reason - it's a federal crime to shoot at an aircraft.

Re: It will be called:

the evengrandmacanreaditnowPad ...

Re: Have you ever lost anything you wanted back

> I seem to get socks that aren't mine. With 9 toes.

In my part of the multiverse, socks don't have toes. I suppose it's the local black hole that causes the loss of digital information.

Re: Yeah...

> I'm sorry but what the heck was the person flying the drone doing in the first place? Flying low through peoples gardens with a camera attached?

Ars Technica states that the drone had been hovering at 200 ft for around 20 seconds when it was shot down. The pertinent question is, what the heck was the shooter doing?

Re: Terrible--And Wrong--Common Opinion

> You say, "...users of such infrastructure should be the people paying for such infrastructure."

> This is such a common and completely wrong opinion that I couldn't possibly let it go without a tirade: Are you NUTS!

Johannesburg is currently in the midst of this debate. The powers-that-be decided that, as Jo'burg has some of the busiest roads on the African continent, it would only be fair if the users paid an e-toll to contribute to their upkeep.

The authorities argued that as Jo'burg's roads took the lion's share of the nation's budget, users should pay a premium to use them. In effect, the users should pay for the infrastructure.The population of Johannesburg boycotted the system en mass.

One of the most compelling arguments advanced for non-payment was that while Jo'burg's roads took a lot of upkeep, the city formed the backbone of the South African economy. However much smaller towns and rural areas felt disadvantaged by the disparity in spending, they're feel a lot worse if SA's economy was to break down as a result of a lack of maintenance to SA's economic 'engine'.

What it comes down to is that even if a rural farmer (for example) never uses a main road from one month to another, he is an indirect beneficiary of the transport infrastructure that supports the nation's economy. How, then, can the farmer's intangible benefit be assessed - progressive income tax!

Re: Hah! Luxury!

>all we had was an abacus and storage was dried peas lined up.

I started in AT in the 60's when pea technology was still new.

In those days the bean counters would scoff, but we'd tell them to give peas a chance.

Re: FTFY

You sound fat.

Re: "the use of rules which allow you to specify the action"

> A rule that releases the hungry lions. Yes, that would work.

But, but ... you're just playing into their hands. That's exactly what the roving bands of lion-killing dentists want.

> A division of Marines.

The word that immediately sprigs to mind (from the comfort of my armchair) is 'quagmire'.

Much better to provide support for the SANDF and other African troops already in-country as part of the UN stabilisation mission - coupled with funding a meaningful, African led program of social upliftment.

The ban was put in place after an inspector got a hot tip.

Re: Naming features

I propose naming the pyramid Mount Neher in honour of the first manufacturer of aluminium foil.

Amazon prime is available as a monthly subscription.

Re: I didn't know Nitrogen could freeze

> The Universe really is mind-boggling

You need to remember that the melting point and boiling point you quote are at a standard atmospheric pressure of roughly 1 bar. A cursory look at the N phase diagram of shows that at pluto's atmospheric pressure of 10 microbars, nitrogen sublimates between gas and solid without an intermediate liquid phase.

Mind you, the physical chemistry of terrestrial snow and ice is surprisingly complex and still not completely understood. The behaviour of Pluto's icy, hydrocarbon-y, nitrogen-y snow is likely to equally challenging to understand in detail.

I thought it was government policy to let them eat cake.