Posts by Doctor Syntax

Re: POTUS Supporters

"So don't get on their lawn and try to tell them that they should not drink Lysol while sitting in a UV sunbed"

I wouldn't even try. I'm a biologist; I think evolution by natural selection works.

Re: Trump's Base

"Chicago excepted"

Chicago isn't unique in that respect.

Re: Dare I suggest

Obviously it's so important that clinical trials should start immediately and equally obviously the keenest proponent of the scheme would surely be the first to volunteer. And none of that blind control nonsense either. That's for all these scientists who take forever to tell you things. Just get on with it.

"makes George W Bush look fairly smart"

He even makes John Prescott sound as if he speaks well constructed sentences.

"He mused aloud in what is basically word salad"

Which is a very dangerous thing for a man in his position to do. If everyone else were to do the sensible thing - discount all his blurtings by 100% it wouldn't matter but unfortunately that isn't going to happen.

Re: radio interferences

IME, living maybe even closer to the main AM transmitter, Third was more or less inaudible below the howls from the line oscillator harmonics of any TV set in the vicinity. What was worse, Third wasn't even transmitted from that site. It was, according to my cousin-in-law who worked there, transmitted from the even closer TV station on a low power with an aerial suspended from one of the stays holding the mast up.

Re: It didn't affect us

Back in the '80s we didn't need to get up to discover it was snowing. We could lie in bed and hear cars crashing into the gate-post across the road. We were on a site on the inside of the corner. It took scarcely any snow for some drivers to fail to make it round the corner properly.

Re: Elevator interface

Nothing will stop a determined digger driver with your fibre in his sights.

Re: And yet

"We still keep voting for the same idiot political parties."

We need more and better idiot political parties to vote for.

Re: All your data are belong to us

Barter.

Re: Sunset clauses and jury oversight are needed.

Inconvenience. That's why we have all this nonsense.

Re: Sunset clauses and jury oversight are needed.

That's OK providing all MPs voting on it fpublish, a year before voting, their login IDs for all online services they use, thus breaking their contractual agreements to keep these secure.

Re: All your data are belong to us

"don't put it online"

So deal in cash only. You'll have to keep in under your mattress because you're not going to find an actual branch anywhere close by.

And the ECJ which is what Boris has now escaped.

"No malice or conspiracy needed, just human nature."

One and the same.

Re: Nice article!

"I had not heard of the thermal creep effect"

You might have met a few of them.

Re: Makes my job harder

"Already having enough trouble persuading higher powers to read the Ts&Cs before signing up"

If you have a legal department (and assuming you aren't that legal department!) you could simply get into the habit of running all T&Cs past them. That way they can intervene with the higher powers.

Re: Government communications

Whether or not they have a video version is immaterial. Cabinet meetings need something that can be operated without assistance by the average minister (Hacker was a very average minister the "Yes Minister" scripts). Convenience beats security every time.

Re: No opportunity for grabbing the Mace

And Members are supposed to not bring their swords into the chamber. Arrangements are made for them to leave them: https://historyofparliamentblog.wordpress.com/2020/02/05/on-swords-and-pink-ribbon/

Re: Protest

As I recall the contest for the previous Speakership was between Bercow and Ress-Mogg. I think the right man won.

Re: Lockdown endgame? There won't be one until the West figures out personal responsibility

According to the Beeb this morning ONS reports that the number of deaths in the week up to 10th April was getting on for double what would be expected. This is a whole lot more serious than the average flu season and not one to be as lightly dismissed as you think. To quote Somerville and Ross, there's people dying now that never died before.

Without commenting on your claimed facts, your logic is wonky. The objective it to tell you that you've been close to someone who's infective, not someone who's immune.

Re: to LOL or not to LOL

Maybe El Reg should have a section "Curiously shitty companies".

Wouldn't "Curiously goof companies" be easier to maintain?

Re: Switch provider, and refuse payment

"ask for the quality managers details"

First ask if they have one.

Re: Yeah, Right!

And this is the downside from everything that seemed a Good Idea. Trust has to be earned and it's a bit late in the day for governments to discover this.