Posts by CrazyOldCatMan

Re: But if its a smart meter

My base power usage is quite pathetic

Sadly, mine isn't - one internal tropical fish tank (300 litres, with 2 filters), one external pond pump, one server and misc storage devices upstairs (and aircon in the summer) plus the heating requirements of keeping 7 cats happy (and me - t'wife is happy to just put several more jumpers on)..

All in all, our electricity use is about equivalent to a stadard family of four. Including teenagers (which, fortunately, we don't have)

Re: music-for-people-who-don't-like-music

Never understood the Coldplay hate.

It's similar to Phil Collins hate - successfuly musicians, made lots of dosh without being lary or in-your-face.

I'm no fan of Coldplay but even I'd admit they work hard - even if Chris Martins' voice makes me want to stab needles in my eardrums..

PC is a whole other woven container of piscines - he was an incredible drummer, great singer and (especially with Genesis) a great songwriter. Sure, he's had more wives than I've had hot meals but he's hardly unique in that - compare and contrast with the animated mummy known as Mick Jagger.

Re: Bread...

They should eat grass and leaves only

It's not the gluten that's the problem - it's the amount of protein in the bread. Swans, being (mostly[1]) herbivourous can't cope with large amounts of protein in their diet and bread has surprising abouts of it. Same for ducks - and because they are much smaller than swans, the effects are magnified.

And they don't really eat grass and leaves - they mostly eat water weed. The ones that eat grass extenively are geese. We give our local waterbirds a mix of sweetcorn (off the cob obviously), lettuce and sunflower kernels. They tend to ignore the lettuce..

[1] When they snack on water weed, they are quite happy to incude the small crustaceans/invertibrates living on said weed. And when the adults have cygnets around then both adults and cygnets need more protein in their diets to help the cygnets grow quickly so they will explicitly eat more molluscs and invertibrates.

Re: So, no wrongdoing. But $35m in penalties.

without a tech savvy friend or relative

They may well have them but said friend/relative is sick and tired of being used (and complained at) about being unpaid tech support and has declined to assist ("No - I don't do technical stuff any more and I've forgotten everything. Speak to someone else..")

Not that I'm going by personal knowledge at all. Me? I don't do technical stuff any more and I've forgotten all my skills.

Re: When I was a wee lad

Now it seems HR is there for the sole benefit of the board

HR exists to protect the company from the employees and for no other reason. In all the companies I've worked for, there's only been one HR department that *actually* wanted to help the employees - and even then it was only one very-clued up lady (who presumably knew where all the management skeletons were buried).

When I got made redundant from there, her magic meant that my payoff went up by about 50% while remaining fully within the corporate and legal frameworks.

Re: <Evil Grin>

Withdrawal is not fun

Sounds a *lot* worse than codeine withdrawal (a bit of insomnia, a gut that suddenly fully-mobile again and joint pain).

I can go weeks without caffeine. But don't ask me to go for more than a day without tea..

(Yes - I know it has caffeine-like substances in it but they have an effect more akin to the substances in chocolate. Which is why a mug of tea relaxes and refreshes rather than making you jittery..)

Re: All too late

and so on seem to be totally unaware of how anything works

That's because most of them haven't ever had a real job before they went into politics (and no - jobs in the City brought about by the Old Boys networks don't count).

There are a few I respect - and they all have had a Real Life(TM) before Parliament.

Re: Scotland/Wales want increased powers locally

but TM has to be at least near the top of that list!

Especially as she didn't appear to keep any eyes on the (lack of) progress of the feckless waste of space David Davis - who spent at least 12 months doing *absolutely* nothing - despite being shown up time and time again by Parliamentary committees..

makes quality censorship nigh on impossible

Especially as 'social media' seem to be pathologically opposed to *actually* spending proper money on solving the issue.

So no videos of the enemy being killed then?

Not unless you want to be prosecuted for breaching the Geneva Conventions - no.

Re: Both in the wrong tbh

chihuahuas, pugs and sundry

They are all still dogs and will respond in (largely) the same way as bigger dogs. And they are still 'real' dogs - it's not their fault that they are owned by shallow, vapid owners who see them as fashion accessories.

Much like staffies - we've had a couple of half-staffies now and a more loyal dog you could never find. It's a real shame that, at the moment, they seem to be the 'hard nut dog of choice' (much like Rotties[1] were a while back) and owned by people who think it's amusing to give them minimal training - and most of that is in aggression.

Blame the owners, not the dogs.

[1] Our first dog[2] was a GSD-Rottie cross rescue (got at 3 months old). The most laid-back and unaggressive dog I've ever had. Then when he was 9 months old, we got a dobie-rottie cross to keep him company. In every matter apart from food, she ruled him with a paw of iron and he loved it. Then we inherited MiL's staffie-JR cross and miniture dachshund when she shuffled off. The one most likely to bite was the dachshund..

[2] I grew up with Boxer dogs. Wonderful dogs but somewhat exhausing to keep up with.. Like Staffies, they have a very stong protective drive.

Re: "what's going to happen to that cash?"

Probably contribute to what I'm told is their rather nice wine cellar

Fine wine (if kept correctly) is a pretty good investment - unless you drink it of course. Much like rare whisky (I nearly wept when I saw how much my long-deceased bottle of "As we get it" whisky would have been worth if I hadn't drunk it..)

Re: Context please.

Snivilisation

But, on the upside, people like me would have died before birth in a less medically-advanced world

(Rhesus incompatibiliy isn't fun - having to be born 6 weeks early by emergency c-section and given a whole blood replacement wasn't the best start. Mind you, that was 50+ years ago..)

Re: Musically...

Can't upvote Nightwish enough. Even Imaginarium!

Indeed - although I do wish that they would manage to hang onto a vocalist for more than one or two albums..

Re: Musically...

recommend something like Opeth

Seconded. Although I'd probably start with Pale Communion (and not just becuase that's the one on my current playlist).

Re: Musically...

symphonic or melodic death metal

Or prog-metal (Dream Theater et. al.). I tend to get bored by regular metal and really, really can't stand cookie-monster style vocals.

Metal fans do tend to be well behaved

As do prog fans. I suspect that both groups will have a tendancy to drink more than their bodys weight in beer over the course of a weekend though.

Re: Free Thinkers

sheep on the other hand, tend to be served up on said dinner table

Not in my house they don't[1] - I can't stand the taste (or smell while cooking) of lamb.

T'missus, on the gripping hand, quite likes a well-cooked lamb shank - so we compromise. She buys a pre-cooked one from a reputable supermarket and heats it up while I cover the smell by eating curry. It's a win/win.

[1] Except in cat food. But I suspect that the proportion of sheel protein is quite low compared to a lamb joint..

Re: An already safe...

'worst aircraft accident stats' are probably the Caproni CA60

Closely followed by the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. AKA "Widowmaker".

Re: Which way to the nearest supernova?

no wonder the cats are looking at me funny

Trust me - that doesn't require a supernova event in the locality. In fact, just a windy day will do it[1].. (and wind the dog up - his not-very-good-now hearing makes him think that stuff blowing about in the garden is eeevvviiiillll intruders, aiming to break in and steal his food..)

[1] Or a day with a 'y' in it. Or a temporary rise in the local Paranoia Field strength. Or insufficient treats being handed out. Or missing on catching that small crunchy prey that they had their eyes on. Or 'just because'.

appointing liberal supreme court justices

Err.. Bob - you are aware that there are more Conservative SCJs that liberal?

At the moment anyway.

Re: Split up Federal government

Not a bad idea if you want the US to collapse

Which might not actually be a bad idea. Much like the British Empire, it's an idea that's had its day and now belongs in the past.

Of course, that would give free reign to the Chinese but I think they'll be somewhat concerned by their own imminent commercial collapse to worry about it.

Re: @Adrian 4 -- Good plan

then observe first-hand what a monopoly can do

The words "borg you" spring to mind. Followed by ensuring that the aims and goals that you set for your startup can never be achieved leading to the loss of all the staff that were originally in the startup.