* Posts by John Brown (no body)

25255 publicly visible posts • joined 21 May 2010

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Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram deplatform themselves: Services down globally

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: Facebook down..... side benefits?

"Families will have actually have to talk to each other with whatever consequences result from actual conversation."

A baby boom in June 2022?

Pretend starship captain to take trip in real space capsule

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: Why?

I think it must be a few years now since El Reg advertised for a picture editor. Maybe s/he's burned out now after all that sterling service and it's time for a new one?

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: It’s hardly one up man ship any more

And anyway, the Russians just launched a film producer and an actress up to the ISS to shoot some scenes for a film. Supposedly, she play a surgeon sent up to operate on a cosmonaut. That's the official line anyway. One wonders if there may be some X rated scenes filmed for a different film while there :-)

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: As for how Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic might top Captain Kirk going to space, …

"Dr Who doesn't do seat of the pants space transportation."

Oh, come ooooonnnnn! You're talking about a guy who had to live through multiple re-generations before he learned how to steer his "ship" properly. And he leave the handbrake on because he likes the noise it makes!

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: famed for some nerdy TV show from the 1960s

The whole of the 60's was faked by drug addled hippies shagging all over the place!

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

According to the BBC report on this story, Shatner turned down an offer of a flight from Branson some years ago because Branson was going to make him pay for the flight. Shatner said he'd not risk his life unless he was paid big bucks :-)

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: Dicing With Death

Is there a correlation between established SF writers and the "best" episodes?

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: Dicing With Death

"Can't beat the ending, good way to ensure no more sequels, I get tired of cop out series endings"

Blakes 7 lives on at Big Finish!

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: Only 100km altitude?

Yeah, it's not exactly the Kessle Run!

Firewalls? Pfft – it's no match for my mighty spares-bin PC

John Brown (no body) Silver badge
Coat

Re: Guess what I found!

"A new zone file on the "real" DNS provided some extra space on the desk:)"

It's ALWAYS DNS :-))

(As facebook probably found out today too)

Maker of ATM bombing tutorials blew himself up – Euro cops

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: You can just ORDER ATMs???

"TSB ATMs usually do deposits - you generally need to pick the "more options" button to get to the second menu screen."

Ah, thanks, that's interesting. I probably have seen one then, but not noticed. I've never had a need to make a deposit like that. The very, very rare occasions I've received a cheque, I just took it to the bank :-)

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: You can just ORDER ATMs???

Instead put your drug proceeds into an ATM."

Although I've heard of that, I don't think I've ever seen a cash machine that takes cash deposits in the UK. Are they more normal in other countries? Actual physical banks almost always had a "night safe", a chunkey metal one-way hatch/chute thing where deposits could be made, primarily business users who needed to cash-up after the banks closed.

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: Depends

"Must say, I'm quite surprised to see the somewhat large number of blowing up of ATMs across Europe as some sort of 'norm' over there."

Me too! With all those explosive attacks, using construction machinery to rip them out of walls, and all the jackpotting going on, I am wondering just what the actual costs are compared to, you know, having actual banks with people. I know the cost isn't all directly born by the banks. Insurance companies are paying out. And the people paying the insurance costs are the small shops, supermarkets, network operators, supply companies etc I wonder if anyone has done a totalling of the costs involved and a breakdown of who is paying it? (Yes, in the long run, it's you and I paying for it it fees and charges)

UK.gov presents its National Space Strategy: Space is worth billions to us. Just don't mention Brexit, OK?

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: Boris Johnson’s 'Galactic Britain'

Build more windmills. Store the power in all our electric cars, rotate the nacelles vertically through 90o then reverse the polarity of the neutron flow and fly the whole country up :-)

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: Boris Johnson’s 'Galactic Britain'

Brexit 2.0?

Step 1. Capture a Star Whale

Step 2. ???

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: "putting rocket boosters the size of a Saturn V's F1"

"The F1 was the engine, not the booster..."

They are only talking about small boosters, the size of an F1[*] engine :-)

* Formula 1, Not Saturn V F1 :-))))

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

"Boris Johnson’s 'Galactic Britain'

...on the back of a Star Whale!

Netflix sued by South Korean ISP after Squid Game fans swell traffic to '1.2Tbps'

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: Frightening...

Googles search results algorithm seems to be based more on the popularity of results, not the relevance. I'd expect typing Squid on it's own should be more relevant to the mollusc, but that's not currently the case because result popularity has a higher weighting.

I see similar on the BBC news site. Sometimes a popular story links to to "You may also like" and sometimes a lot of people click that and a story from some years ago ends up in the Top 10 Stories side bar.

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: If only there was a protocol to replace client/server by a network of peers

It would keep a lot of the traffic "on net", so much less off-net peering costs. But as others have pointed out, Netflix can install kit on the ISPs network to also minimise off-net peering traffic.

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

That's an interesting point. I wonder if it compares with, say, the mobile phone companies when a disaster happens? The solution they came up with wasn't to increase capacity so everyone could all make calls all at the same time. it was to declare an emergency and pretty block all users from the network other than "authorised emergency services workers".

Not a great analogy, I admit. Netflix watching is hardly a life threatening disaster, but still. Capacity is usually built to handle significantly above average, but it's not always possible to justify the expense to allow everyone to max out at the same time because in general, that never happens. Most ISPs these days work on an "all you can eat" model, but reserve the option to load balance, throttle and even cap heavy usage.

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: Netflix should not pay

"Netflix have exposed the problem, but they didn't cause it."

That's true. On the other hand, ISPs networks were designed before there was this amount of data being thrown around to so many of their customers all that more or less the same time.

More investment in their core network is required, but like any organisation, no one wants to spend money on upgrades to support something that may or may not catch on. It's a supply issue. A bit like, I dunno, having barely enough petrol tankers to keep the filling stations supplied. Drop a scare story that fuel is running out, demand goes up and customers suddenly find the network can't deliver the higher loads. More tankers and more drivers can fix the problem, but it takes time to bring that all on line. Looking ahead from the past, it was clear a problem was coming, but no one would spend the money to fix the problem before it happened. Same with ISPs networks. No one wanted to beleive that streaming video was going to get so big, so fast, so didn't properly invest to solve the problem. Now they need to, and it'll cost even more now and they have unhappy customers while waiting for, testing and installing new kit.

The poster boy for planning ahead is probably the Y2K problem. Ask most people and they say "what Y2K problem?". Yeah, because it was seen, planned for and solved before it actually became a problem. One of the rare occasions!

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: Looks like the ISP wants 2 bites of the cherry

It seems cheaper in SK, but how do those prices match with the cost of living/disposable income between SK and UK? Are there sales taxes involved?

Cheeky chappy rides horse around London filling station, singing: 'I don't need petrol 'cos he runs on carrots'

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: Why now

I see the government have sort of listened and started the visa scheme now instead of next month and extended it to March next year. That may attract a few drivers if the wages are right. Sttill not enough IMO, better better than the original plan.

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: Why now

Not only that, but the visa scheme is only being offered for a few months. HGV drivers are in demand everywhere. Why would someone want to come work in the UK for only a couple of months? The visa scheme should have had a 12 month minimum term. At least that might be a bit more attractive.

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: Why now

That's the bit I am curious about. The only one I saw on the Friday morning was the Daily Mail. Had the previous Thursday evening papers already run the click-bait or did they follow suit on the Friday evening? Anyone know?

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

"empy shelves in the uk is 90% brexit and denying it is the new lysenkoism"

Must be a local thing. I'm not seeing empty shelves. Some shelves have less product on them at times, but I'm not going into shops on a Saturday shop and coming away disappointed because what I want isn't there.

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: gas lighting

"i had to do a 20 mile trip today and all five garages i passed had no fuel."

I drove 300 miles today. Every garage and motorway services I saw was serving fuel. And I am being hyper-aware of filling stations who are selling fuel because my job requires lots of driving. I'm guessing your in the densely populated SE of England. More people, by definition, means more idiots still panic buying. The rest of the UK seems to be getting pretty close to business as usual now, apart from the high population density areas.

And anyway, it's a self-solving short term problem. At worst, once everyone has a full tank, even keeping it topped up is no different to always running half empty. The lack of HGV drivers not withstanding of course. It could come back to bite again, and probably will, right across the supply chain. All it takes is for someone to mention a product shortage, which gets media attention or goes social media viral, and around we go again.

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: whisper this very quietly

Shhhh, keep this between you and me, but I heard some of the ISPs are running low on bits and bytes due to transport shortages too. Stock up now before the rush!

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: Terminology

Exactly. I was going to post almost the same thing. It's only "panic buying" when others do it :-)

Although, on a more serious note, it's really only "panic buying" when people are buying purely because something is in or perceived to be in short supply and may not even need whatever it is they are buying, or are buying more than they could possibly need or use. eg the guy who filled his garage with bog roll in March 2020.

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: Can we please start a rumour of a halloween merch shortage?

I noticed Aldi have their Christmas cakes/puddings/other Xmas treats on the shelves as of last week.

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: I would hate

"Being the only Brit petrol truck driver delivering 'guzzoline' and having the scoot trash from Mad Max queuing up behind your truck to syphon off your cargo!"

I saw report of a tanker driver suddenly realising there was a line of cars behind him on the dual carriageway and no one was passing him. When he came to his turn off, about 20 cars followed him. When he got to the construction site he was delivering mortar to, the car drivers got a a bit pissed off because he wasn't driving a fuel tanker :-)

FWIW, I filled up on Friday as normal, drove about 300 miles (half tank) on Monday, filled up at that end, drove back 300 miles on Tuesday, filled up back home, did a "short" day and a "long" day, using another half tank, filled up on Thursday night, then used another half tank on Friday. I'll probably have to fill up at some stage on Monday because that's going to be another half-tank day. So far, the only issue I had was on the way home last Friday when the first place I stopped at had a £30 limit.

As far as I can tell, the problems seem to be regional and mainly in high density urban areas or heavily travelled commuter routes. Probably the school-run crowd filling up when they normally do 2-3 miles per day and fill up once per month causing most of the issues.

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: Why now

"Newspapers" like the 'i' are largely to blame, running headlines like "Petrol rationing", when no such thing was happening.

*Technically*, they can get away with saying that because some filling stations were putting limits on how much they would sell you.

I saw the initial reports of the very few filling stations having supply issues, but the next morning, last Friday, the Daly Mail printed the headline "Britain Running on Empty". By that evening, it's was coming true because that (and maybe other media outlets) click-bait headlines caused the panic buying.

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: Why now

It's all done online with electronic documents now. Has been for some while now.

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: Why now

"The UK actually delivered more HGV tests in 2020 than it did in 2019, the DVLA hit job going on at the moment is as laughable as blaming the RHA for the structural problems with Brexit"

I was chatting with an out-of-work HGV driver the other day. He turned 70 about a month ago. He had applied well in advance for his licence renewal so it wouldn't interrupt his ability to work. He's still waiting for the renewal to be approved and on benefits now because he can't drive. Lorry drivers need medicals and other licence renewals far more frequently than us mere mortal car drivers, so he's well aware of what he needs to do and when.

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: Why now

" cabotage."

That's the leafy rabbit food you throw away before munching into your kebab, right?

2FA? More like 2F-in-the-way: It seems no one wants me to pay for their services after all

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: Online French banking outside working hours - fuggedaboutit

So, it onlt works 10am to 3pm, has a 2 hour lunch and the colour scheme is surly and like to say "Non!"

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Same here in the UK with MBNA. They kept sending me statements but refused to deal with me as I wasn't their customer. After some significant research, I found a way to contact them and basically told them to check and update their records or I'd be passing the info onto the relevant authorities. I even gave them my mobile number with a strong disclaimer to not use it for any other purpose than to contact me over this specific issue. Someone from their security team actually phoned me! Wow! After a bit of toing and froing, we agreed I was getting these emails and was not the intended recipient and this was a problem for them to deal with. The emails stopped. A year later, they started again. Did the account owner not know his own email address? Did he think he could just make one up and it would magically work? Did MBNA have an outage the meant they restored from an old backup? No idea, don't care. Sent them an email, CC's to the relevant authorities and set up a rule on my mail server to to "bounce" any more of these statements from them to any and all MBNA official accounts I could find.

Computer shuts down when foreman leaves the room: Ghost in the machine? Or an all-too-human bit of silliness?

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: Power socket on the lighting circuit?

"In real life, you'd have y-shaped adapter in your light fitting with a bulb in one branch and optionally a shaver/iron/toaster/arc furnace in the other."

My dad had a load of those adaptors in the garage for some inexplicable reason. The family had moved into a nearly new house when I was only 6 months old in the early 60's so there was no need for them. Maybe he needed them in the flat we'd moved out of? Anyway, I used to have great fun connecting them up in different ways to make strange looking models and sculptures. Sort of Lego Duplo for toddlers before Duplo was a thing :-)

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: Power socket on the lighting circuit?

"Amazing peoples' houses didn't burn down."

They did! That's why the government put out Public Information Films on TV warning people about using multiple adaptors and extensions.

I can't find the one I remember, but hours of fun and education can be found at the BFI and National Archive sites :-)

Nostalgia for us oldies and some WTF? Really? moments for the younger readers :-)

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: Only in a UK domestic application

UK ring mains are 24A or 32A for power sockets. A ring is only allowed to serve up to 100 Sq metres, after that you need a separate ring. Also, each floor will have it's own ring. High current device such as electric cookers or showers will have their own 30A spur. In more modern builds, the kitchen may have its own ring separate from the rest of that floor.

I'm less happy about unfused devices on German spurs relying on a 16A breaker instead of a fuse rated properly for the device that is plugged in.

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

" I guess floor lamps were popular in living rooms when it was built?"

Very likely. I remember watching US TV shows here in the UK many years ago and it seemed whenever people wanted the lights on, they hit a wall switch and multiple floor and table lamps came on. It seemed very odd to my young mind because here, a wall switch turned on the ceiling light. Power points might have their own switch built in, but never a separate wall switch. Floor and table lamps plugged into wall points and had their own inline or fitting mounted switches. The downside of the UK system is you need to go around turning all the table/floor lamps on individually. The upside is you can't accidentally plug a vacuum cleaner into a lighting circuit.

Of course, it's much simpler now. All you have to do is try to remember where you last left your phone, hunt it down, hope the battery hasn't died, click the app, select lighting, choose the room, click the icon, send a signal to a server in China which will then send a signal back across the world to turn the light on for you. Probably in the wrong "smart hue" because the AI guessed wrong about your mood. Progress, eh?

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

I was once sat in the bog at one of the schools in York University when the lights went out. No amount of hand waving would turn it back on because the movement sensor was in the main area, not inside the cubicles. Luckily the "emergency" lighting was just bright enough to see by. Maybe if I'd not had a curry the night before I'd have made it out before the lights went off.

Is it a bridge? Is it a ferry? No, it's the Newport Transporter

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: THE Newport Bridge

Yes, I came here to say much the same thing. A transporter bridge and a lift bridge just a few miles apart in Middlesborough and, as you say, also called The Newport Bridge.

Anyone who has passed through the area on the A19 Tees flyover will have seen it. You can't really miss it as you drive past :-)

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: A Superb Article!

Me too! Although I think you meant "Wot 'er sed" :-)

Danish artist pockets museum's cash and calls it art... and other stories

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: Art for the sake or art

Or, as 10cc would say;

Art for Arts sake

Money for Gods sake

Gimme the readys

Gimme the cash

IKEA: Cameras were hidden in the ceiling above warehouse toilets for 'health and safety'

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: Not good enough

"to women's safety charities"

Why? The first camera was discovered in the mens loos. Only afterwards, on checking, were they found elsewhere, including the ladies loos.

Other than that, I mostly agree with you.

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: Excuses, excuses

Must admit, if I suspected and then found video cameras that could be monitoring the toilets, I'd not be reporting that to a line manager. I'd be reporting it direct to the Police. After all, it might be the line manager who is the criminal perv! Clearly, lack of trust works both ways.

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: Excuses, excuses

Normally, you use a credit card or similar get the line "just right". According to a friend.

Blue Origin employees complain of sexist culture that ignores safety concerns

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Re: Big Bezos

65 miles is not space

John Brown (no body) Silver badge

Yeah, I read a non-disparagement clause that bound them and their heirs. too and my first thought was, "fuck Bezos, even you can't enforce a contract binding persons without their consent, not even in the Good 'Ol US of A".

That has to be an outright illegal contract clause. I'm pretty sure that "sins of the father" has no bearing in most legal jurisdictions and in no civilised ones.

Likewise, the legal costs clause. If BO sues someone over breach on contract, that same contract CANNOT force the person sued to pay BOs costs if BO loses, which is what the clause appears to be claiming.

I know USA (like most countries) laws can be a bit weird in part, but even Bezos can't think he can get away with contract likes that. If there are more clauses of that ilk in the employment contracts, a decent lawyer could probably have thed entire contract stuck down for taking the piss, rather than the more usual legal result of just having the offending clause struck down.

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