Posts by michael cadoux 46 publicly visible posts • joined 13 Jul 2007
There's no need to invoke something external for the universe to expand into. Our universe is probably finite but unbounded. Imagine 2D creatures exploring the surface of a sphere. Keeping on the same bearing, they will eventually return to their starting point; go where they may, there's no boundary.
We are 3D creatures, perhaps on the surface of a hypersphere, and would experience the same if we tried to cross the universe: there's no boundary for us to find, and a constant bearing would bring us home, but arriving from the opposite direction we started with.
We developed a technically superb aircraft that had no chance of paying its way, but closed down our successful space programme because Ministers couldn't see any prospect of commercial return, and that just a few years before Telstar. UK satellite Prospero still bleeps forlornly in orbit. Oh well, we're back in the space industry, but only after 40 years of lost opportunities and worldwide competition.
I would like to think that the people tasked with actually coding and implementing the changes had been asked whether that was feasible in the timescale. However, if so, it would sadly be a rarity; usually the managers emerge from a meeting where it's all been sewn up, and the luckless techies are told to be positive and just have it ready it by a prescribed date.
It's that managementspeak word! Often misapplied after some snafu, when the organisation claims to have "robust systems in place" - well they obviously weren't robust enough, mate. Also, it's not enough to draw up policies and then (like pointy-hair to Dilbert) say "well I've done my bit, why can't you?"
"Robust" shouldn't be treated like a magical incantation, it must be do-able by the poor sods on the ground, in this case without the time required compromising judicial work.
So, semi-undetectable filaments connecting galaxies. Also recently more dwarf galaxies than previously detected. I'm sure there will be more such discoveries of dark non-Dark Matter, hence the "need" for DM - or the size of MOND adjustments - will correspondingly shrink.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2149742-half-the-universes-missing-matter-has-just-been-finally-found/
There may indeed be Dark Matter, but the only reason to invoke it is to explain observed galactic/stellar rotations that aren't consistent with Newton's inverse-square law. Why are the various MOND theories so unfashionable?
Surely very slight tweaking of low-acceleration gravitation on cosmological scales is more in accordance with Occam's Razor, all the more so as gravity is far harder to measure experimentally than subatomic phenomena, which can give staggering accuracy .e.g. clocks accurate to a few seconds over the lifetime of the universe.
Has anyone noticed that when (or do I mean if?) our aircraft carriers finally get some F 35s, the Pratt & Whitney engines will be serviced in ... go on, have a guess ... yes, NATO country ... no, they'll be serviced in ... Turkey. Friendly, stable Turkey. Think about the possible geopolitics a few years hence when Erdogan either blows his top and stomps out of "the west", or is deposed by somebody even worse, take your pick. YFG.
I've seen hollowing out and offshoring. On one system I looked to 3 sysprogs for support, 1 with 20 years' experience, the other 2 about 6; fire the 20-year expensive guy, and surprise! the others then took twice as long to help because no quick guidance for them any more. But managers can't see that. In another shop, all sysprog roles "transferred" (only 2 actually moved) from local to HQ. Rang for some CICS support/tweaks: "I've no idea about any of your systems up there" -and I sympathised, there had been no knowledge transfer to speak of - I told the responsible manager (you can see why I never progressed!) that I had witnessed the final local week with documentation going into black bags and then into the bin to clear the shelves. Boy, was he not interested, but I'm sure "successful transfer" (he'd done zilch) was on his CV.
As a newbie I was given some JCL to test a program change and specifically assured that it only read a more-than-usually important database, used in thousands (literally, it was a large company) of jobs. After 2 or 3 runs I noticed that the output showed a run number that increased by 1 each time and reported it, only to be told that was impossible as my Dev sign-on didn't have update authority. Oh dearie me. Turned out there'd been a special dispensation for another project to update using Dev sign-ons, and the authorisation hadn't been cancelled.
My supervisor was visibly worrying about whether he'd keep his job! Luckily what I was running didn't update client data, only the run number for audit.
I remember a news item about a woman who did that ON HER OWN DRIVEWAY and some passing youth jumped in the car and drove off. So as well as getting out (possibly in pouring rain) you'd have to take the key out of the ignition.
(All that said, I've always had only manual opening garage doors, but not lived in areas where the bad stuff happens)
Okay this was early 1980s: the Doomsday Button was fairly high on the wall, and surrounded by a casing - but without a front face. Somebody (no really not me, not guilty) still managed to stick his elbow into it ("How did you even manage that without being 7 feet tall?"). Fire suppression system activated, power off, evacuate before room filled with some retardant gas ...
Nobody has blocked Brexit, despite the hysterical frothing by Murdoch, Desmond and Rothermere papers lying about the judgement. Brexit won't even be delayed unless May plays silly beggars. She can schedule Parliamentary time for debates on how to go about it, followed by voting on a resolution or by repealing the 1972 European Communities Act.
The principle of the sovereignty of Parliament (now remind me who kept on about "Take Back Control"?) was asserted by chopping off Charles I's head in 1649, then telling William & Mary to mind their Ps and Qs because Parliament was supreme by passing the Bill of Rights in 1689. The Executive should be accountable to Parliament.
Not comparable. The shoes are definitely left and right, but neither photon has a definite state. Until one is measured, each is in quantum superposition.
Incidentally, I assume that photons are sent to the satellite, as the first poster's point about entanglement not surviving launch is surely valid?
As an olde-tyme mainframe contractor, I enjoyed the countdown on "Your licence for this product expires in xx days" warnings. Then came a last-minute managerial scrabble for renewal - though too late in one case, so the only organisation I ever worked in that had somebody actually tasked with maintaining licences was AFTER a cock-up.
"the problem could only be fixed if he contacted the business and they would then escalate it." I did back-office tech support for many years, and I would never have left things like this - I would contact the business myself and make sure I'd found the right person. But yes, sadly I did come across this attitude.
"given the threat the UK faces ..." begins one post above. Why are WE particularly at risk from Iran etc, whereas Spain, Italy, Brazil, Turkey, Germany - to name but a few of the world's non-nuclear nations - don't feel the need? Also I remember being repeatedly and scornfully told in the 70s & 80s that no nation would ever divest itself of nuclear weapons. When the USSR collapsed, every constituent republic - even those with mad dictators like Byelorus and Uzbekistan - swiftly handed the weapons on their soil over to Russia, partly for practical reasons but also realising that they're militarily useless.
1) Being as described, how come she was anywhere outside the GCHQ building? As pointed out, other heads should roll. We don't want lovely people on these operations, just grim-mouthed anal-retentives :-)
2) Though I generally believe in open government, this loss should not have been published - if the baddies didn't get the stick straight off, they know about it now and have probably laid hands on it by fair means or foul.
The "anti-youth" version almost sounds (!) okay until you start thinking about it - what about dogs, often left tied up outside? And babies?
Barry Manilow is a bit harsh, I'd prefer Mozart but if that fails, Kiri Te Kanawa should see them off. If nothing else works, Mahler - but that would give me seizures, so only as a last resort.
I've read that painting street furniture pink is effective for obvious macho reasons.
The telcos bleat for sympathy against ruination. Always remember J.K. Galbraith's observation that during WW2 when in charge of US procurement he was constantly petitioned by captains of industry for increased prices, crying they would otherwise be ruined. He always said no, and they never were.
Mr Matthews (Screams of Racism) has chosen not to post again. If you've now updated yourself, Mr Matthews, it would be interesting to hear your reaction to the facts that have emerged, and why you still believed persiflage that was initially peddled, but then withdrawn and apologised for, by the police.
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