Posts by Sarah Balfour

Re: Reminds me of Surfen Multimedia

Probably sounds/reads better in German, right…? Still, I'm always seriously impressed by how well many Germans speak English; I was listening to a show on a station based in Hamburg the other day and the DJ kept dropping into English as though speaking his own language was too much effort! Made it easier for me to understand, though - mein Deutsch es nicht so gut to say the least! But many of the bands I love are German, and none get played on UK radio (except Rammstein). Trying to learn German so I can understand them, and I'm failing miserably! Many do write in English, but many don't.

I was just about to say the same thing. Been running 3 or 4 years on mainline (London to Brum) services.

Re: I'm guessing...

AFFECTED!

Effect is a NOUN, rarely a verb

Affect is a VERB, rarely a noun.

Don't forget that 'soaps' were originally soap-powder ads. Wonder how long it was before they forgot about the product and started slagging each other off/shagging their best mate's missus (sister/brother/cousin/granny/cat/dog).

Re: It's not just the last mile...

Same here. I'm in South Bucks, and I've all but given up on the buses. I don't think they're subsidised (if they are, it's to the tune of about 4d ha'penny), there's one about every 3hrs (depending on where you're wanting to go, think there's 2 A40s an hour) and they're really only patronised now by old dears wanting a free ride to the quack's. A return journey for me would be almost £5.

If I wanted to get to Wycombe, I can either get the, notoriously unreliable, A40 (about £8 return) or I can walk to the station and get the train for about a quarter of that (I have a disabled railcard) but it does mean trudging back up Amersham Hill.

When my mother began working in Wycombe (she works for the council) she had this idea she was going to get the A40 because the office is just over the road from the bus station, and she'd be able to claim for her tickets, whereas with driving she could only claim parking (council won't even pay that now, the tight-arsed cunts, so there's always a mad dash at lunchtime to move cars from one 'up to 3hrs' free on-road parking area to another, because the multi-storey costs about the same as a bus ticket). However, it meant arriving at the office either an hour early or an hour late (if the bus arrived at all) and waiting around in the winter… she drives now.

She wouldn't trust a driverless car. She barely trusts one WITH a driver, if that driver's my dad. He's not the most patient, nor tolerant. I'm surprised he's still alive, to be honest.

Re: Inadmissable...

We don't know how that confession was obtained - could have had his dick in a vice (metaphorically speaking, although this IS America…) and, as nobody's yet mentioned it, the kid's black. US LEOs seem to have a penchant for attempting to stitch up blacks (when they're not murdering them, of course).

Perhaps he IS guilty - or, perhaps, this is Zimmerman in reverse; why guy definitely shoots black kid and walks, forensics state that this black kid DID NOT kill his mate (ethnicity unknown), but I have no faith in him,getting a fair trial, for the same reasons that Trayvon Martin's family didn't get justice - US fuzz are inherently racist.

I read a statistic somewhere (and I'll find out where when I'm more alive) that blacks make up 80% of death row inmates, but blacks aren't responsible for 80% of capital offences.

Am I saying our plod ain't racist cunts - of COURSE I'm not, but we don't legally murder people here anymore.

If the victim was white, there's no fucking chance in hades this kid's gonna get a fair trial. Surprised the fuzz who arrested him didn't shoot him on sight, save the expense of going to court.

Go on then, downvote away…

Really…?! So the Tea Party are just really, really, REALLY good bullshitters…? My own observational research says that anti-vaxxers are also climate change deniers, birthers, and creationists.

Coz, if one aspect of science is bollocks, it's ALL bollocks. Tea Party/GOP/mostbRepublicans/Kippers tend to write their own science.

Remember, vaccines will cause horrendous neurological disorders. IF YOU LOVE YOUR CHILDREN, WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO POISON THEM…?! God will protect them from all disease but, if your child suffers brain damage from contracting measles, that's God's punishment for their lack of faith. - Tea Party/GOP Logic

Re: Hang on...

All Your Data Are Belong To Us

Diabetic…?

You need to be avoiding more than just the obvious sugars, all carbs turn to sugar once you've eaten 'em.

Eat low-carb/high-fat, and you'll not require as much insulin. I honestly believe that the USDA and the NHS recommend a low-fat/high-carb diet because they're in the pay of Big Pharma, I can think of no other logical explanation for recommending a diet which is almost the polar opposite of our evolutionary and genetic dietary blueprint (the polar opposite of what's healthy in other words).

Oh and a word if you've been ordered to cut your sodium intake because you've got hypertension, angina or other heart problems. Ignore the quack, cardiac problems are caused by too LITTLE Na, not too much. If you cut out sodium, your potassium level will increase, and too much potassium causes heart, circulatory and neurological disorders. In fact the WHO RDA for sodium is around half what our body requires (the current recommendation for Na is 2.4g for K is 3.6g so, in other words we need 33% more Na than K, rather than the current 50% more K than Na recommendation).

Finally, saturated fat and cholesterol don't cause heart disease, either.

Re: Its a planet.

But Eris also has a moon (Dysnomia), and it's around 27% more massive than Pluto so, if the criteria are size and satellites, then why has the argument for its reclassification never arisen then, eh, eh…? Riddle me that then, Smartarse!

Ya can't, can ya…?!

But there appear to be some who'd agree; Pluto's Wikipedia entry is locked to all but admin, and I assume it's because there are some who'd like to see it regain its planetary status and edit its entry to reflect that.

Re: Do it the Australian way

And how is that in any way democratic…? Not that different from IDS punishing the sick and disabled for not being able to sign on.

What if they're elderly/sick/disabled…? And what's the difference between a 'fee' and a 'fine' anyway…?

Re: Its quite safe to store secret stuff in the ceiling

What's this article concerning, AC…? And here was I thinking that *I* was the only one to take everything literally…

@Mister C, have an upvote.

Re: There was another game that came out a year earlier...

Yep, that's the monkey! I bought it and, try as I might, I never managed to get into it. It wasn't the style, I liked that because it was something different, but I seem to recall it being completely illogical, and very linear and, like most adventure gamers, I find linear games frustrating in the extreme, because you really need to be psychic/clairvoyant to get anywhere. I can't think of any examples offhand, so I'll have to invent one, but say you get to a bridge, guarded by a troll who won't let you pass unless you give him the amulet in from the witch's cottage right back at the beginning, and now there's no way back because you had to destroy all the bridges to prevent being hunted down by the bridge troll's mates, and all you can do is start over and, when you DO start over, it takes 3hrs of searching to find the fucking thing! I hate pixel-hunting, too!

I don't mind dying in a game, provided there's good reason, and it doesn't happen every time you stick your head around the door of a building you've not searched before. That gets pretty old, pretty fecking fast. There was a point towards the end of one of the Gabriel Knights (3 I think - it was the werewolf one, as I recall), where you had to perform a series of actions in exactly the right order, and with split-second precision timing, to ,kill the bad guy (who may - or may not - have been a werewolf by that point, look it was about the same time as GF, as I recall) and I remember one of the things was jumping from the middle of a revolving platform, onto a very thin ledge and, if you didn't get the timing exactly right, you fell into the abyss and that was that. I don't recall ever finishing that game, coz it was too frustrating.

Re: Sigh

You answered you own question, use Firefox. Why anyone would use Chrome is beyond all understanding. Chrome is, as far as I'm concerned, just one big ad; not only have you got the sponsored results, but Google manipulates search results to shove its own products in yer face er, no ta.

I'm not saying Mozilla doesn't harbour an agenda, but it's a lot less pushy about it than Google (perhaps I ought to be worried…), although I do wonder who powers its search - if not Google, then who…? Bing? Yahoo!?

I'm still trying to find a decent iOS browser; tried a few, but there were things I couldn't get on with about each of them which meant I've not stuck with one for any length of time.

I use Tor most often, but I can't say I understand it, and the config guides might as well be in Klingon for all the sense they make.

Re: @Phil Dude: Experts?

The point you're all overlooking is that education doesn't necessarily equate to intelligence. You can stuff kids' heads full of dates, quotes, formulae, etc., and they can regurgitate that on an exam paper, but does that mean they're intelligent…? Just because one has simply learnt something, doesn't necessarily mean that one understands it.

For example, I'm sure a large cross-section of the population would know Einstein's theory of relativity is E = MC2, but how many would know what it means and to what, exactly, it applies…?

Conversely, uneducated doesn't necessarily mean unintelligent, but that's the connotation.

I'd say that this shower o' shite demonstrate the former perfectly.

As for the Lords, whilst I agree that being unelected means they're free of political affiliation, those who weren't 'promoted' from the Commons, at least, what's to stop them from having personal agendas…? I don't trust any of 'em, aside from the ones I do, and there ain't many of 'em, let me tell ya.

Besides, what are they gonna know about tech stuff…?! The last time I saw 'em it may as well have been the Westminster old folks' home!

I wouldn't be any more confident if they had an advisory panel, as it would probably be identical to the one 'advising' on the MoDA - look what happened when David Nutt actually DARED to go against the - then 'Labour' - government, he got the boot, sharpish. I can't see one for nanosecond that one for tech/Internet will be any different. All the government want is a bunch of yes men. Actually tell the TRUTH and see how long you last…

Re: Not quite

What a GREAT shame I can only downvote that once, and not the squillion or so times it deserves…

Re: Animal rights are no laughing matter, and to portray them as such is cruel and irresponsible.

If you're a bleeding-heart Veganist, then I'll be renouncing my membership of these boards. I have absolutely ZERO time for veganists. They can slowly kill themselves if they want, but I won't be made to feel guilty for eating the diet I was designed by evolution to eat. Humans can no more extract nutrition from plants than a tiger can.

I've read about the most heinous acts of animal cruelty committed by vegans, mainly forcing carnivorous animals to eat herbivorous diets.

Humans are the only animals which decide that eating to their evolutionary genetic dietary blueprint is somehow 'wrong'. When was the last time a lion suddenly thought "Killing zebra, gazelle and wildebeest is cruel, I'll just graze the Savannah like they do…"?

Our bodies aren't designed to extract nutrition from plants, a vegan diet is almost 100% nutrient-free.

Re: Bankers for anyone...

I'm guessing in your narrow-minded, myopic worldview that disability is only a physical thing…? Banking for me - both on-and-offline - is a fucking nightmare. I am both physically disabled and I'm autistic, I don't have a phone, nor am I able to go to a branch. I needed to access my online account, but I'd forgotten my details.

I found NatWest's online chat thingy, and was basically told that I'd have to call their online banking team (I don't own a phone because the fucking things terrify me) or go into a branch. When I said that neither was possible, the response basically boiled down to "Well you're fucked then, ain't ya…?!"

That 30-minute online conversation left me in a state of panic for more than 2 days. Helpful banking, my fucking arse!

I can't even have anyone act on my behalf, apparently, because that's against their Ts&Cs; it's for "customer protection" apparently - sounds more like NW protecting corporate arse. Stupidly let slip that my mother had logged into my account a fortnight or so ago, because I'd been having trouble with the DWP. Was told in no uncertain terms that, if she logged into my account again, they'd terminate it. Fucking jobsworths!

Obviously, I'm not so naïve or stupid to think that banks don't need to protect their customers, but there has to be a balance between protecting people from fraud and denying people with disabilities that make it impossible for them to access their own accounts, access to their money…?

She didn't even tell me "this call is being recorded" until just before she 'hung up' on me. I thought it was illegal not to inform someone they were being recorded at the START of the conversation. I'm now wondering if she broke the law by not telling me until almost the end.

I'm now effectively locked our of my own account.

I've never gone 'Droid, coz I SWEAR the bot's pulling a Nazi salute. Also, the trouble with 'Droid is that cans don't tend to function properly, in that the only button which tends to function is play/pause, and that's kind of a deal-breaker for me.

That said, I don't think much of Appe's 'oleophobic coating' - doesn't matter HOW clean my hands are, it's completely smeared-up within 5 minutes! Oh and I DO WISH it would quit reminding me that I've not signed up for a data plan yet! It's getting more and more frequent. Read on some fora that cell can be switched off, but there's no option, that I can find, on a UK iPad. Seems to be a US-only thing. I bought a wifi + cell model because there could be a need for 4G access at some point, and I'm not able to get a contract (and I'd not want one if I could).

Re: SLOUGH - if despond - easily the worst place in Buckinghamshire ... or anywhere?

Yep, late to the party as usual. I didn't see this until 20 mins ago…

If you think Slough is in Buckinghamshire, I'm going to hazard a guess you're in Berkshire and it's just wishful thinking.

My parents have an SL postcode; the local Townswomen's Guild and WI spent years lobbying the council to have GX reassigned to HP, that way it would be in the same area as Beaconsfield, currently the most desirable place to live in the country (according to the Torygraph).

The people I feel most sorry for are the residents of Fulmer, what was once a picturesque village is gradually being swallowed up by the industrial leviathan that is Slough. It now has to endure massive juggernauts hurtling through as they come off whichever bypass that is (can you tell I don't drive…?)

Not much different to Little Waltham, which is practically a ghost town these days.

Re: I cancelled my landline a couple of years ago.

Vodafone is the spawn of Satan. I was mugged a couple of years ago, and had my, rather expensive, North Face rucksack nicked with just about everything I owned of any value in it. I did everything you're supposed to do; went to the plod, got a crime ref, went to the local Vodafone shop (this all happened in Sheffield), and told them to close my account (or so I thought) after providing them with the crime ref.

I guess it was partly my fault, because I didn't ask the jobsworth to provide me with written confirmation that he'd closed the account, but I'm autistic, I'd just had all my worldly goods nicked, so I wasn't exactly thinking straight.

I somehow got my mother to cancel the direct debit, but for months and months afterwards, we were receiving letters from DCAs and, every time they sent one, the cunts added £100 or so to the total! In the end, I was staring down a bill for almost £3k, which my father ended up paying just to get the fuckers off our backs!

What's their current slogan - 'More Power To You'…? I don't fucking THINK so! I only went with them because, at the time, they were the only MSP to offer a 'non-contract contract', i.e. you still paid monthly, but you weren't tied to any specific length of time.

Then, a few days later, I was walking down Fargate, when I noticed a Vodafone receipt on the ground. On the back was printed: "Proudly Supports The National Autistic Society" - they couldn't have cared less that I was autistic; I was in that shop, trying to sort out not getting whacked with a massive bill, and at least three times I was threatened with having the fuzzies called on me! They didn't, but it was a similar story in Starbucks when I was forced to kip rough one winter. It was well below zero, and I didn't dare try to kip in case, well, that was it. I accidentally fell asleep, and the next thing I knew I was being knocked to the floor by 3, not exactly small, fuzzies. The manager yelled at me, "We don't want your type in here; you're filthy, you stink, you never buy anything and you're bad for business. Regulars won't come in if you scum are, they're afraid they'll get robbed!" It was December, as I recall, and who do Starbucks always support at Crimbo…? Shelter.

Going back to Vodafone, I don't understand WTF Ofcom can't force 'em to quit penalising crime victims; what if I - or anyone - had been seriously injured, spent several weeks in hospital, only to come out to find a £££s bill…? I REALLY don't get the point of having a regulator if it won't (can't?) regulate. It's not just me, it's happened to thousands.

Re: Ergh

Onions.

Re: greater affects?

Well, the greater EFFECT might be that it could destroy most of the planet, which would AFFECT the population greatly.

Effect = usually a noun, rarely a verb

Affect = usually a verb, rarely a noun

Apologies, but rampant insomnia tends to awaken my inner grammar Nazi.

Re: MS should do an Apple

What, you mean like the Newton and the Pippin…? Nah, don't remember those at all…

Anyone else not remember 'em…?

At least you're able to differentiate between the Web and the Internet. When the W3 turned 20, there were hundreds of 'Happy Birthday Internet!' posts in my Fuckberk and Twatter feeds (neither of which I use anymore) many from folk well old enough to recall a time before the Web existed. My gentle admonition that it was the WEB that was 20, NOT the Internet was either met with me being blasted for being a fucking pedant, or variations on a theme of "Same thing, innit…?" The Google Doodle even linked to a page chronicling the history of the W3 (forget where, probably just Wikipedia) told 'em to read that and they STILL didn't understand the difference. Web: software, Internet: hardware - I really fail to see what's so difficult to grasp about that…

I'm surrounded by idiots, imbeciles and ignoramuses.

Re: Stylus on Apple devices?

Is Elon Musk the nutjob who's obsessed with finding a cure for death…? Okay, perhaps 'nutjob' is a tad unfair, but I swear I recall reading an interview where he said he planned on living forever, and that he couldn't understand why anyone would want to die.

Perhaps that's why his girlfriends keep getting younger and younger, he's looking for the 'gene of youth'.

On second thoughts, perhaps nutjob isn't too harsh, isn't his ex-wife dragging him through the courts for being a complete controlling cunt who occasionally lets his fists do the talking in his mouth doesn't get the message across…?

Reckon he won't ever get to 'forever'…

Re: They don't have starbucks

Why the fuck was this downvoted?! Here, have another upvote, some folks clearly have no sense (of humour).

Re: Atos?

The very same. I got lucky, many poor fuckers didn't. Atos staff weren't the ones to blame, most were only there coz it was the only work they could get, many left when their consciences couldn't take any more.

IDS has always nauntained there are no targets but, then IDS wouldn't know the truth if it fucked him. Employees were allowed to spend just THREE MINUTES with each claimant, and expected to work a 10-hour day. The BARE MINIMUM was to fail 85% per day, didn't matter if they had terminal cancer, MS or depression. One advisor walked out when her manager told her to "Get nasty" because she wasn't failing enough people. She was "off-target" by about 30% as I recall. She'd been wanting to leave, anyway, but she really couldn't afford to but, when her manager told her he would fire her if she didn't step up the failure rate, she found the courage to leave.

I'd like to invent summat that would render IDS unintelligible every time he told a lie (which would pretty much mean nobody could understand a word he said).

Re: Babymetal

I thought they werer assembled for the Japanese version of X Pop Factor Idol. The scary thing is that they were put together in 2009 when the youngest was only 8 or 9 - what does that say about Japanese parents…?! I know Oriental kids can be spremely gifted (when I was at school, there were 3 half-Chinese girls (they were all still in the prep when I left). I can't recall what the eldest played, but the middle one was a concert-level violinist; the youngest, Jasmine, was the reason I quit piano - it was embarrassing struggling through Grade 4/5, when there's a four-year-old in the room next-door about to sit her Diploma! HTF she managed octave chords (I never could, and my hands are very small but hers were tiny even for a 4-year-old).

Re: Vote

Aren't we forgetting someone…? As much as I loathe Bono, I don't believe he's ever declared that "People who eat meat are worse than those who rape children" or "if Jamie Oliver loves meat so much, why doesn't he roast his kids…?!"

I don't think I need name names for the reason that even typing his initials makes me want to commit acts of extreme violence against inanimate objects. As far as I'm concerned, he's been an irrelevance since at least 1984 (if not earlier).

He's threatening another album this year - he needs to be stopped! Beginning to think the cancer was just a rouse to get the world to feel sorry for him (though he's Veganist. Jobs was Veganist. I believe that disease only occurs when you fuck around with your genetic dietary blueprint (the fact the UK is world's second fattest nation should be testament to that). Jobs had pancreatic cancer, the spread of which was likely aided and abetted by his 100% carb diet. Vegans have lowered immunity, and a compromised immune system, due to the lack of distinct lack of nutrition ins vegan diet (humans can survive without plants, but we CANNOT survive without meat, or at least not in good health)).