* Posts by Intractable Potsherd

4159 publicly visible posts • joined 10 Jun 2009

Splunk to junk masters and slaves once a committee figures out replacements

Intractable Potsherd

Re: Dream Warriors - You think I don't know

"When disease wipes out millions of people?

Black death"

Serious lack of historical knowledge again! Bubonic plague (before it got that name) was called "the Black Death" because of the distinctive buboes which appeared black, especially after death. It was and is a purely descriptive term based on what was observed. It has nothing whatsoever with people of other skin colours. See also "yellow fever".

Oh, how I wish people were educated to a reasonable minimum standard.

No surprise: Britain ditches central database model for virus contact-tracing apps in favour of Apple-Google API

Intractable Potsherd

Re: If it has cost £108M that is more than the vaccine development program!

@Dr S: a serious question deserves a serious answer, so here goes. These are my reasons for not wanting to be an M.P.

1. I am not, and never will be, a "good" Party member (i.e. a back-slapping, two-faced extrovert willing to change opinions based on whoever tells you what your opinion is).

2. Living life in the public eye. I don't want everyone knowing who I am and what I (may have) have said or done in the past.

3. More importantly, my family don't want (2) above.

4. I don't want to be defined by my political opinions.

5. I actually have scruples that I'm proud of.

6. I would become VERY frustrated at nor being able to change what I see as fundamental injustices in the system (welfare, court system, democratic deficit).

There are probably more, but those five reasons are sufficient. Change the Party system, get rid of FPTP voting, set some enforceable limits on what journalists can invade, and I *might* change my mind.

If Fairphone can support a 5-year-old handset, the other vendors could too. Right?

Intractable Potsherd

My last two Samsungs (Note 4s) will probably be my last Samsungs. Both were second-hand (I don't buy anything new unless there is a very good reason) and both ate their OS at about the same age (based on manufacturing dates), starting with random reboots and progressing to just not booting at all. One of them seems to have gone so far as to lose the bootloader. I haven't had time or patience to track down a solution for this (assuming there is one), so run a Jolla and an Ulefone Armor X5 these days. I miss using a stylus, but not to the extent of trusting Samsung again, since the experience with the Note 4s suggests a built-in problem. I have a Note 1 that I bought in 2012, which is now for the children to play games on. It is going strong, so Samsung at least used to be able to build things properly.

Intractable Potsherd

Re: I expect that I will be downvoted...

A phone isn't a fashion accessory, it's a tool. If a case protects it, use one or take the risk of your tool getting broken easily.

Intractable Potsherd

Re: I have an original Jolla Sailfish phone from 2013

I was just going to post the same thing. SailfishOS is a beacon in the darkness of built-in obsolescence. Jolla not so much (can't get a battery for the phone any longer).

The incumbent President of the United States of America ran now-banned Facebook ads loaded with Nazi references

Intractable Potsherd

Re: I didn't know of the triangle badges in the prison camps

AC troll - don't feed.

Intractable Potsherd

Re: Apathy Rules

A free press is one of the cornerstones of democracy. If journalists are annoying the government, they are doing their job properly.

Just out of interest, Claverhouse, how would you keep decision-makers honest without journalists?

Intractable Potsherd

Re: Trump will walk it in November

Unfortunately, I agree to an extent. From what I read, Biden doesn't have the backing or personality to galvanise swing voters. However, I don't think Trump will walk it - it is only going to be a tiny amount again, and down to the electoral colleges.

Winter is coming, and with it the UK's COVID-19 contact-tracing app – though health minister says it's not a priority

Intractable Potsherd

Re: Feels like no one cares whether the app will work

The app is at https://covid.joinzoe.com/. I've been using it for several months.

I understand some of your anxiety, but please remember that *across the world* fewer than 500k people have died of this virus (I'm taking the current figure, since the claims of under- and over-reporting seem to balance out at the moment). This is not an "at any costs" situation by any means - let's look at the broader picture.

Intractable Potsherd

Re: Well that aged well

It looks increasingly like keeping schools open was an entirely legitimate thing to do. "What we’re seeing more and more from the data that comes out is that child-to-child or child-to-adult spread is actually not common”. https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/covid-19-is-very-different-in-young-kids-versus-adults-67637

Ah lovely, here's something you can do with those Raspberry Pis, NUC PCs in the bottom of the drawer: Run Ubuntu Appliances on them

Intractable Potsherd

From the article, "Even a certified device could have a commitment to support for only five years after the release date of the underlying version of Ubuntu Core. That means you could have a certified appliance based on Ubuntu Core 18 and it might only be kept updated until 2023 (though the OS itself has updates at least until 2028)."

And here is the major problem (and not just with this Canonical project). Support should be for x years after EoL, not from release. I'm also a strong advocate of legislation making EoL software open source, to reduce the deliberate obsolescence manufacturers insist on.

Only true boffins will be able to grasp Blighty's new legal definitions of the humble metre and kilogram

Intractable Potsherd

Re: Im so glad they didn't define things as their relation to Planck Time and Planck Length

It depends on their thickness.

Intractable Potsherd

With regards to beer, the Czechs keep it simple - "velký pivo*" = "large/big beer" = a half-litre, "malý pivo" is whatever the smaller glass is (300ml?).

*or insert name of beer or strength (jedenactku = 11° = fairly weak, třinactku = 13° = strong)

Intractable Potsherd

Re: Tine to redefine Pi(e)

That's the exception that proves the rule!

NASA scientists mull sending a spacecraft on a 13-year mission to visit Neptune's 'bizarre' moon, Triton

Intractable Potsherd

Re: Do it, please.

I was doing the same calculation. I'll be closer to eighty than seventy by that point, so it is cutting it close!

It is a bit depressing to realise that I'm now at an age where I may not live to see the results of relatively short-duration plans made today...

The girl with the dragnet tattoo: How a TV news clip, Insta snaps, a glimpse of a tat and a T-shirt sold on Etsy led FBI to alleged cop car arsonist

Intractable Potsherd

Re: Parallel Construction

It's such a tissue of maybes that a reasonable jury should be able to say "too much doubt" and acquit.

NY Attorney General warns Apple, Google to police COVID-19 tracing apps in their souks – or she will herself

Intractable Potsherd

"Maybe just quarantine that*, not the whole country."

That is what should have happened right from the beginning. Treating the Peak District like Manchester, the Brecon Beacons like Cardiff, and most of Scotland like Glasgow was insane.

Intractable Potsherd

As well as the time element, there is an environment element. Being outdoors is much different from being in a large building with is different from being in a small building, for example. Also, what people are doing makes a difference - talking, shouting and singing have different threat profiles. None of the apps seem to take this into account, so people will rapidly lose any trust they might have, anyway.

Hey is trying a new take on email – but maker complains of 'outrageous' demands after Apple rejects iOS app

Intractable Potsherd

Re: RE: quxinot

"Quirky" - a word that defines absolutely nothing. Anyone who uses it seriously needs to be shunned.

GitHub to replace master with main across its services

Intractable Potsherd

Re: wow

Where does the idea that "black" *always* means bad and "white" *always* means good come from? How fucking stupid do you have to be to think that?

Intractable Potsherd

Re: If you look for offence, you will find it

Mrs IP is not originally from these shores, but has a similar average skin colour to those who are historically considered to be native to the British Isles. She does have problems with racist attitudes directed at her but, because she doesn't have dark skin, she gets no support. The Black and Minority Ethnic committee at her employer won't consider supporting her because she isn't from a continent other than Europe.

Some racists aren't being called out enough.

Intractable Potsherd

"I'd like to have "Tory" Tories banned too."

FTFY

Intractable Potsherd

Re: Master copy

Interestingly, it seems that there wasn't a major early-modern society that didn't have slaves. In Europe, Vikings and the Germanic societies certainly had them, as did the Moors in Iberia. What is even more interesting is that most Western societies abandoned slavery per se around a thousand years ago whilst it was still common elsewhere around the world. Many hundreds of thousands of white people, often living around coasts, were taken to be slaves in e.g. Africa over several centuries. Britain was the first country in the world to make slavery illegal, long after the actual practice had stopped in the country.

Intractable Potsherd

Re: Master copy

^^ This! Sideshows like statue-toppling and pointless term-changing are making people who just see people (like me) question the whole project. You will get nowhere by forcing silly crap in people - this entire approach is wrong.

Overload: A one-way ticket to a madman's situation

Intractable Potsherd

Re: Thanks for a giggle....

Absolutely correct. It would have been better if "Black Lives Matter" had "Too" on the end.

Infosys denies former head of diversity recruitment's accusations of racial bias and visa fraud

Intractable Potsherd

Re: "Infosys has denied the allegations"

But if diversity applies one way, shouldn't it apply the other?

(I can't decide if that's a joke - make up your own mind.)

Whatsapp blamed own users for failure to keep phone number repo off Google searches

Intractable Potsherd

Re: WhatsApp has brains??

Sorry - ran out of time to edit my post. I wanted to address your question seriously.

The answer is that I don't know, because I am not minded to screw people over. However, there are lots of people who are. For example, the first telephone suppliers and owners had no concept of the potential for abuse that scum rapidly jumped on. Information is power, and it can be used against you. Reducing the attack surface is the best defence, but companies like Facebook take away options do that (usually deliberately, but in this case accidentally).

Intractable Potsherd

Re: WhatsApp has brains??

JAACT* - good to see its going hungry.

*Just another AC troll

Logitech G915 TKL: Numpad-free mechanical keyboard clicks all the right boxes

Intractable Potsherd

"No numeric keypad = no thanks."

Horses for courses. I dislike keyboards with numeric keypads because they make the keyboard asymmetrical and push the mouse further away from the centre-line. I also discovered a long time ago that I like a row of number keys rather than a stack which can be either 1-9 or 7-3 (top-left to bottom-right) depending on... whatever.

Barmy ban on businesses, Brits based in Blighty bearing or buying .eu domains is back: Cut-off date is Jan 1, 2021

Intractable Potsherd

Re: It's what a sad, angry minority wanted

"... if being in the EU is so good, why do the Scottish Nationalists want to leave the UK?" You answer it yourself - "... consider exactly what sort of union is involved."

"The UK has been a fairly successful and well-integrated political and economic union for 300+ years,.." Yes, for the English.

Intractable Potsherd

Re: @Olius

Gold-plating was nothing to do with the EU, and everything to do with those people you want to have sole law-making powers. Let's see how that works out.

Intractable Potsherd

Re: @Olius

"We can trade without selling the country out to another gov to run."

When did that happen? The UK had a very powerful position in the EU, and rarely lost what it wanted. With derogations, it was very much a deal in which the UK took what it wanted and ignored what it didn't. That's a very funny version of "selling the country for another gov to run". Now, if you want examples of countries run by another gov, let's look at Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Catalonia etc in which another country takes all the taxes and gives back what's left after the dominant bit has had its pick.

Intractable Potsherd

Re: It's what a sad, angry minority wanted

@Phil: "At the moment the person working hardest to destroy it is Nicola Sturgeon, with assistance from some EU members who would love the chance to smack the UK for daring to leave, and who have always found that a divide-and-conquer strategy is best for them."

Once again, a Brexiter using the same argument *against* Scottish independence that they used *for* coming out of the EU. You can't have it both ways - either independence* is good for all or it isn't good for anyone. What is it about the English that makes them want to keep a failing union together? Is it that they know that the Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are a huge net benefit to them?

*Note: being a member of the EU never actually took away independence from the UK in any meaningful sense.

BoJo looks to jumpstart UK economy with £6k taxpayer-funded incentive for Brits to buy electric cars – report

Intractable Potsherd

Re: Buy more cars - drive them less

The pint I'm making is that the national figure is not granular enough. Have you been to any ex-industrial towns with their swathes of terraces? Have you been to many seaside towns, where parking at all is a luxury? Fine, suburbia might outnumber these areas, but those stats do not reflect the lived reality of millions of people. Of the dozen or so places I've lived in my life, a full half of those had no off-street parking, or any way of putting it in. Two were unusual in that they were the only houses on the road that had off-road parking near the house. One had parking perched precariously above the front garden (you'd have to see it to believe it). My hit-rate for on-road parking would be higher, except I made parking on my land an absolute requirement as soon as I could afford not to consider anything else.

Intractable Potsherd

Re: Buy more cars - drive them less

"Government stats show about 75% of people have off street parking."

You, or someone with a similar writing style, keep posting this, and I keep replying that I don't know how that figure is reached. In many towns/cities, there are entire areas which consist solely of terraced housing spreading over acres. The people who live there are usually at the lower end of the socio-economic scale, though not always (think big Victorian/Edwardian terraces). There is no off-street parking, nor will there ever be short of bulldozing and starting again. Your blithe "75 percent", even if true, denies reality.

Huawei launches UK charm offensive: We've provided 2G, 3G and 4G for 20 years, and you're worried about 5G?

Intractable Potsherd

Re: China needs to stop threatening countries

The USA needs to stop threatening countries. To be honest, I don't see China threatening countries on a global scale.

Intractable Potsherd

Yep - policy-based evidence-making.

Smart fridges are cool, but after a few short years you could be stuck with a big frosty brick in the kitchen

Intractable Potsherd

Re: Never understood this

"You've never wondered if the laundry was done, listened, it sounded quiet so you figure it is done, then went to the wash room and found it was still running?" No - I know how long a cycle runs. Don't you?

"And how are you going to open the fridge to check how much milk you have while at the grocery store?" I'm not - I know exactly how much milk is In the fridge, either because I keep a running tally in my head*, or I check before going to the shop. Planning - you must have heard of it.

*Rapidly maturing children may alter this, of course, though not to the extent of needing a spy-fridge.

Intractable Potsherd

Re: Never understood this

Everything is a poison in the wrong context. Relative risk is the important issue.

Intractable Potsherd

Re: Never understood this

"He lives in the fascist state of California, where everything is known to cause cancer and therefore no one has any rights."

Coke on, folks! Is California fascist or communist? Make your minds up and stick with it, please.

Trump's Make Space Great Again video pulled after former 'naut says: Nope

Intractable Potsherd

This was entirely to be expected

As I posted about two weeks ago, "For me, the only sour note is the MAGA-esque jingoism - "Hey, it's All-American, woot woot!!11!" " If anyone thought that it wasn't going to attract this sort of behaviour, they really aren't paying attention.

Legal complaint lodged with UK data watchdog over claims coronavirus Test and Trace programme flouts GDPR

Intractable Potsherd

Re: What to do if you're contact trace positive

... and your point is??

Intractable Potsherd

Re: What to do if you're contact trace positive

Did any of the downvoters actually look at the article, or just knee-jerk click? The people making the claim are eminent statisticians with peer reviewed papers due out.

Repair store faces hefty legal bill after losing David and Goliath fight with Apple over replacement iPhone screens

Intractable Potsherd

Re: The law would appear to be an ass ...

I didn't digress into my opinion of people like yourself because the post was a bit long already. In a sense, I admire you - you have chosen something that suits *you*, not to shout "Look at me!!!"* I *would* recognise your watches if I noticed them - to be honest, if I was looking at your watch whilst talking to you, the conversation must be incredibly boring - but any general clothing would be entirely lost on me (see earlier comments on my attitude to clothes).

*I'd admire you even more if they were previously owned.

Korean prosecutors seek arrest warrant for Samsung's heir apparent

Intractable Potsherd

I think PTerry didn't go far enough - not only politicians but CxOs should be automatically imprisoned as soon as they take office to save time.

Amazon declined to sell a book so Elon Musk called for it to be broken up

Intractable Potsherd

Re: Amazon choosing to publish / not publish seems like a no-win situation

"Except it would be the Christian bookshop getting told it cannot sell the Bible or follow Christian beliefs, but must sell the Koran and all other Holy books instead. This is what the UK calls "Equality" and "Religious Tolerance"."

Citation or it didn't happen. If it didn't happen, then what's your point?

Intractable Potsherd

Re: TBH!

Genuine question - how can you tell?

Intractable Potsherd

Re: Amazon is a shady bookstore

"Please do support your local bookstore."

Would that include Waterstones or WH Smith? If not, I don't know of any local bookstores selling new books (one or two second-hand bookshops) or ebooks.

Snapping at Canonical's Snap: Linux Mint team says no to Ubuntu store 'backdoor'

Intractable Potsherd

Oh, yes!!

If Daddy doesn't want me to touch the buttons, why did they make them so colourful?

Intractable Potsherd

Re: Many years ago...

I like that idea - when making a *really* serious point, switch on the gravity!