Posts by DamnedIfIKnow

Re: I suppose at least the RN have one ship that works

Lars,

It's Friday, so just a gentle little point - light travels at only one speed. It doesn't vary according to the medium.

Think of it this way: a beam of light travels from point A towards point B. It's going at the speed of light - it can do no other. Later, a beam of light, also traveling at the speed of light, arrives at point B.

When the time is measured, it seems to have taken too long, and therefore was 'slowed'. It wasn't - it can't be. It took the shortest possible route, as light always does. But, roughly speaking, the route was longer than imagined. Off for a beer now.

Re: Have you ever put something apparently useless to good use?

This has glottal stop before it goes too far.

Re: Speaking of the UI being a mess..

@ Unicorn Piss

I used Classic Shell.

Am now using Classic Start Menu (free version).

It's fine. I need dark menus, and I need Apps to never be visible unless I want them to be. I just want to click on the Win flag or whatever at bottom left, and have all the menus come up in columns (one of which is Control Panel), like the old days. It does all that just fine.

I don't know what extra the paid version does, but this is fine for me, and I recommend it.

Re: We are scientists, not "boffins"

Apple Dave:

I think you are 100% wrong.

Kids like 'boffins' and 'propeller heads'. They want to be them.

They the like the pics of the older Einstein with the wild hair, and the white - coated lunatic professor who blows himself up for the Nth time, shrugs, and just says 'Oh well, back to the drawing board'.

If all science had to offer was stern admonitions from the likes of you to act grown up, they'd never go in for it.

They're not grown up, they're kids. The very first thing it must do is appeal to their sense of fun.

Actually, that should apply to all who do science, child or adult.

Re: In other news

@ooFie

You are the living embodiment of the saying that there are none so blind as those who won't see.

Speaking of which, you don't happen to have any relatives by the name of Hovind, do you? Or Ham?

I ask because you seem to be displaying the same dogged determination to completely ignore facts that those two gentlemen are justly famous for.

Re: Deleting emails

Funny you should say that.

In my old firm, around 20 years ago, we were frantically busy over a weekend and trying to calibrate some equipment over and above the normal spec. It was like herding cats because as soon as one parameter was what we wanted another one would drift out.

The test gear output results on a continuous 'till roll'. My boss - whose temper could go nuclear in one second flat - had it happily spooling into a convenient waste basket below the bench, and took himself off for breakfast.

While he was away, in came the cleaner...

Luckily the results were retrieved, but I thought we would need at least one ambulance before the day was out, if only for the onlookers who were going into shock!

Re: Where's my towel?

No.

Because eventually the sun will expand to meet us!

Re: No chain of custody

The former forensics copper is either lying or has broken the law.

So, either way he's broken the law!

Re: FFS

'And we're happy to let the police fly drones over populated areas, unlike amateur users, because what ?'

I didn't know we did. I'm not happy.

Mind you, I bet the yanks were amazed to discover that the FBI had a permanent fleet of over 100 planes spying on their fellow citizens a while back. Wonder if they still are.

You need 100 planes to stop people being run over by vans. Obviously.

Re: The shape of things to come ...

Yup.

And this became AVIATE, NAVIGATE, COMMUNICATE when an emergency happens. Basically, fsck the automatics - keep straight and level at a speed above stall, then make sure you're not about to hit something big and rocky, then - and only then - tell world +dog what you're doing.

The Air France flight spending a long time flying into the Atlantic was absolutely unforgivable. Excuses were made, but it was 100% pilot (culture) error.

But with these drones it seems maybe they should only fly on nice sunny days.