Posts by Brendan Weir

Equal time != Balance

Any factual or analytical errors in Gore's film should be highlighted to the audience. But that doesn't mean the counter arguments should be given equal time, anymore than Creationism versus Evolution, as the scientific community isn't split 50:50 on the issues.

Airbus A380

Does anyone know if this double-decker plane has windows at the front of the top deck where people could pretend to be the driver, I mean pilot? Or would it scare the fundament out of people during landing.

They could even put in a mock-up of the cockpit on the top level and give kids (including 34 year olds) a chance to have a play, while the real crew and controls were left in peace. Or use it as a decoy for terrorists, allowing the crew to lock them in and depressurise it.

If it's that vital...

Will we see the creation of a Ministry of Technology that will invest in and nurture British innovation, champion the acquisition of knowledge for its own sake and promote the wider understanding of scientific issues in the face of quackery, FUD and hysteria?

Or do we get a subcommittee under the Department of Trade run by bean counters wanting instant financial gratification at the cost of losing out to countries with greater long-term vision?

Give it a real workout

See how well it copes with the prosaic witterings from AManFromMars

Fairs fair

They offer an "unlimited" service that really means there is a limit. That's fine as long as I'm allowed to pay for it with a similarly "unlimited" direct debit.

Has anyone actually considered...

Not breaking the law? It makes me laugh when people call for more traffic cops and less speed cameras. Is it because the speed cameras can't be persuaded to turn a blind eye? I'll bet the same people would then complain that the police should be chasing "real" criminals like murders and rapists! What they really want is to drive recklessly with impunity!

@All the pedants

"I want a Joovce doovde and a Joovce lucuda tuv with the hud"

Thank you Fonejacker

If he wants to do something useful

He could remind the Advertising Standards Authority and ISPs of the dictionary definition of "Unlimited"

@Don Mitchell

"Russia and even Europe do not have the know-how to launch Mars rovers or long-term missions to deep space, at least now without extensive help from the Russians."

Perhaps Russia should have a word with itself? :-)

I've got my coat...

Wasn't this David Hasselhoff?

I've got an email from January 2006 making many similar claims about The Hoff! And also, "The popular videogame "Doom" is based loosely around the time Satan borrowed two bucks from David Hasselhoff and forgot to pay him back."

So there's your IT angle.

Our choices

1) Spend a bit of cash and move some of humanity's eggs out of the one basket before the planet goes fubar.

2) Save a bit of cash and develop smart robots to go off and do the fun stuff while we watch our backs in case they turn on us.

All those in favour of option 2 are Lizard Army agents...

Why are we paying Road Tax?

If the government is collecting a 10 person per day road toll, why hasn't Vehicle Excise Duty been scrapped?

Any idea how the 10 people are selected?

@Ian Sneyd

If your "summer" bike is 600cc or less, you can't get a 6 month tax disk, you have to pay full whack and claim a refund when you SORN it. I nice little dodge by the DVLA to stop anyone getting any benefit from the system!

VED system should be replaced a combined MOT/Insurance certificate disk and the savings spent on dubious IT projects of questionable value.

Nice little earner

25p per minute + less staff = more time spent on hold = £££££

The secret is...

Ride a motorcycle and wear fluorescent clothes and you instantly become undetectable to the human eye.

This is why banks insist that you don't wear a helmet in their branches - not so the cameras can get a mugshot, it's to stop you from breaking into the vault completely undetected by the staff.

@Wade Burchette

You asked "How many people have died because of nuclear power plants?" and then answered the question incorrectly. Have you never heard of a place called Chernobyl? Why are there higher rates of cancer on the west coast of the UK and east coast of Ireland? Would it have anything to do with Sellafield turning the Irish sea into the worlds most radioactive body of water? See http://www.american.edu/ted/SELLA.HTM for more info.

Could you answer now answer the equivalent question, How many people have died because of wind power plants? Or tidal power plants? I'll bet it's a lot lower than nuclear!

If both barbs have to contact the skin...

It might be time to dig out that old chainmail vest from your live role-playing days...

Salvation Army

Never won a war...

I'll get my coat!

Resistance:FOM

Should we be preparing for a showdown with these Chimera in Manchester Cathederal?

At $6 per year...

Would it not be more cost effective for companies to register the most common misspelling(s) of their main domain? The law of dimishing returns applies to both owner and typosquatter - would there be any point squatting on mircofost.com? It has to be cheaper than hiring a lawyer.

Iron doesn't ignite!

When a massive star runs out of hydrogen in its core, the core collapses under gravity, raising the temperature and pressure until the helium starts to fuse to form carbon. This process repeats until the core is mainly composed of iron. As iron is one of the most stable elements in the universe, further fusion does not generate the heat required to balance the relentless pressure of gravity and the core continues to collapse unless electron or neutron degeneracy pressure can balance the gravitional pull.

The iron never "ignites"!

My understanding of orbital mechanics might be a bit dodgy...

Can an astronaut give a 31lb fridge enough of a shove to ensure it enters an elliptical orbit, with a perigee deep enough inside the earth's atmosphere to slow it down? Or is it going to come back and collide with the station on a subsequent orbit?

With all that cash...

I wonder if they could spare a few quid to fix my P990i?

Wrong adjective?

I always thought she was diminutive...

I'll get my coat...

@Gerard Krupa

I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for the ASA - the same people who are happy to allow companies to advertise "unlimited" services that are limited by ill-defined "fair use" policies,

Hiding behind the sofa

I thought it was the Doctor's enemies that were supposed to make us want to hide behind the sofa, not his companion...

Aiding and abetting

If the parents of the 17 y.o. stumped up the cash for the air fare, will they be charged with aiding and abetting an attempted kidnapping? Does the charge even make sense if the lad has consented and his legal guardians appear to have granted consent by providing financial assistance?

Of course if she is found guilty, she just needs to donate all her weapons and armour to Dubya's Great War On Terror and he will commute her sentence...

As the government is so keen on the idea

To demonstrate how safe and reliable these next generation nuclear power plants are, the first one should be located in central London.

It crashed where?

"The train derailed in a remote area, about 110 miles away from Birmingham"

What, London?

I'll get me coat...

This is an IT news website, right?

I'm slightly surprised at the number of comments in favour of de-automating the simple process of catching people exceeding the speed limit. Perhaps we should also return to paper-based filing systems and switch off all these pesky computers?

I would much rather rely on an impartial camera with well sign-posted speed limits than a disgruntled traffic cop using "discretion" to turn a blind eye to local vehicles and concentrating on those passing through, or driving while black, or motorcyclists or any other group that might be a target.

As for concentrating on catching rapists and murderers, more people are injured or killed on the roads than are raped or murdered, so using speed cameras frees up police resources to concentrate on these heinous crimes, while raising money from the criminally stupid. It isn't that difficult to keep your speed down...

To bidet or not to bidet (Sorry Shakespeare!)

Maybe Sheryl doesn't realise that we don't all live rock and roll lifestyles and may not have access to a bidet when one sheet just isn't enough...

As for hand-dryers - why are there always fewer dryers than sinks, and fewer sinks than toilets in public conveniences?

And my Mother always told me it was rude and unhygienic to wipe my face on my sleeve!

Uphold the constitution

Maybe someone is ensuring the separation of church and state...