Posts by Graham Marsden

@Nuke - Re: @Madra - Harsh but fair...

"Many a time I could have pulled out of a junction if only I had known that an approaching car was going to turn into it."

You mean you actually *trust* people to do what they're indicating?!

Re: Well at least it's almost science

To quote Isaac Asimov: "The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'"

@fearnothing Re: Very dangerous indeed

"The acts involved in this do specify that intent is a necessary component for it to be a criminal act."

Whilst that is technically true, the fact is that the Police and CPS in cases like this act on the principle of "Presumed guilty unless you can prove your innocence".

Meanwhile all your computer gear, DVDs, CDs, videos, mobile phones, memory sticks and anything else have been confiscated for analysis (which means you'll not see them again for at least six months to a year and they'll often be buggered by the time you do get them back), some "concerned copper" will probably have leaked the story to the press and told your neighbours that you're a suspected kiddy fiddler. and you'll end up with a huge legal bill...

Re: Hmmm...

I work from home and had one of these calls saying they were from the PRS and asking if I listened to music whilst I worked.

I replied "Hear that sound...?"

"What sound?"

"Exactly!" and put the phone down.

No chronological order

I've just found a big problem with the new system: Comments no longer appear in chronological order.

So if A posts a comment, then B replies, but B's post gets more likes, it gets bumped up above A's post, but C's reply to B might appear below A's...

This makes any discussion style comments virtually incomprehensible.

Bravo Failbook!

@A Known Coward - Re: Good one...

Thanks for posting the correction.

Under the Consumer Protection Regulations you can say "If you want you can collect your goods at your expensive and at my convenience, if you don't, I'll keep them, thank you".

@Larry F54

"Where is the war on car traffic?"

A good question. I recall when there was the rail accidents at Potters Bar and people were saying "Ooh, I won't go on trains again", completely failing to realise that there was the equivalent of a Potters Bar *every two days* on the roads!

It's already been proven repeatedly that using a mobile device at the wheel is as dangerous as driving whilst at the legal blood alcohol limit, so, in this country at least, it should already be covered under existing legislation if only we had enough Police on the roads to actually *enforce* those laws...

@Thomas 4: Re: Umm, I'm not sure how cool I am with this

Why am I waiting for someone to day "But it's just a bit of fun!"

(PS it wasn't much fun from my POV at school either...)

Re: Excellent

Well it lets you get revenge for all those shopping trips where you have to make a choice between the red outfit and the brown one (Who cares? Just pick one!) or trying not to get tripped up by "Does my bum look big in this?" questions.

Re: So, you can defeat this by being late?

"lets make it so that there are a 100 different things the terrorist has to get right every time in order to not be caught."

Please look up the following words: "False Positive".

How many people might also fall foul of those "100 different things"?

As for "unfounded distrust", perhaps you should look up "diminishing returns" too...

@Steve 13 Re: Concentration

"automatic, unconscious competence is the highest level"

Yes, but that is *not* what the majority of road users have. They do things automatically right up until the point that something goes wrong, then they slam on the brakes or swerve or freeze up in panic because their skills are only good enough to let them cope with every day situations.

What they do *not* do is use good observation and planning to see a situation *before* it develops. They're mostly just watching the back of the car in front or giving a casual glance in their mirror if and when they think about it rather than considering what other vehicles may be doing.

Remember that the Driving Test only ensures that someone has the *bare minimum* of skills to be allowed out on the road in charge of a vehicle and once you've passed that Test you will almost never need to demonstrate that your skills are still up to scratch.

Unfortunately when youy couple that with being under the influence of alcohol (even if not above the legal limit) or being distracted by using a mobile phone on the move, what you get is a recipie for disaster...