Mornington Crescent?
I'm surprised that while visiting all those stations, the PFY never arrived at Mornington Crescent.
KorevSilver badge
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FAIL
Re: Mornington Crescent?
Well, that's clearly not allowed under the Ealing Broadway South Swap rules, had we been playing the North Swap then you'd have been fine
Chloe CresswellSilver badge
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Re: Mornington Crescent?
If we'd been playing with the North Swap rules though, you would have been in nidd for at least 2 moves.
Barry S
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Re: Mornington Crescent?
At least he didn't get stuck at Dollis Hill.
Bugger. //
Ol'Peculier
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Re: Mornington Crescent?
And at this point... we've lost the Yanks!
eldel
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Re: Mornington Crescent?
My dear (chap/lady/being of unspecified type) we lost them all the way back at Mornington Crescent //
Dave314159ggggdffsddsSilver badge
"So your plan is to walk to Tottenham Court Road and ride the Central line to Ealing Broadway, change to Elizabeth Line and ride that to Slough.""
This is one of the more subtle digs at the boss's intelligence. For non-London-based readers, it should be pointed out that the Elizabeth Line also calls at Tottenham Court Road and takes about 15 mins less to get to Ealing Broadway than the Central Line... //
Tom 38
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Headmaster
This is utter pedantry however:
your plan is to walk to Tottenham Court Road and ride the Central line to Ealing Broadway, change to Elizabeth Line and ride that to Slough."
[..]
"But on the way up Oxford Street you encounter [...] you're going to avoid the hippies and maybe leg it to Farringdon where you can ride the Elizabeth line direct.
If you're on Oxford Street and walking towards TCR, you're walking East. To get to Farringdon from Oxford Street, you go down Oxford Street, New Oxford Street, High Holborn and then Farringdon. So you cannot go to Farringdon and avoid the hippies without diverting off Oxford Street, and if you're doing that, you might as well go to TCR.
Besides which, you're on Oxford Street walking to TCR, and blocked by hippies so you walk to Farringdon? When Oxford Circus or Bond Street is .. right there.
...
Or just a major road. From my house I can get to a nearby location by turning right and then left, in about 3 minutes. Google notoriously would send you to the left for a half mile or so, and right again, and along the slip road onto the three lane ring road, along to the next rather slow and busy exit, bring you off and turn right (roughly a 12 minute, one mile journey) which brings you to a point less than quarter of a mile from where I left home.
Firstly this didn't happen to me. I was with the person when they received a phone call about this issue. Then he explained it all to me. He's not on Reddit so I'm sharing it. It's priceless.
All names changed to protect personal and company identities
Listed buildings - Important to the story. In the UK there is a system for preserving ancient and important buildings. If a building has historical importance it is known as a "Listed building" and the rules about how it's developed/maintained/improved are VERY strict.
The Associated Press @AP
Biden at 81: Sharp and focused but sometimes confused and forgetful https://apnews.com/article/biden-age-election-debate-trump-7c366fda83a697265d9ecc77e8a32fd1?utm_campaign=TrueAnthem&utm_medium=AP&utm_source=Twitter
12:32 AM · Jul 4, 2024
Charles West @CharlemagneWest
·
Replying to @AP
AP in 2024: accurate and fair but sometimes partisan and shoddy.
8:43 PM · Jul 3, 2024
KJSpeed
2 hours ago
Baghdad Bob bowed his head because he knew that he'd been beat
and he laid his fork-ed tongue at the ground by AP's feet.
George Strait @GeorgeStrait
·
Take us back to Texas! George set an amazing record at #KyleField this Saturday with 110,905 fans—the biggest single ticketed concert in U.S. history! What was your favorite part of the show?
@alivecoverage / Courtesy of Messina Touring Group
1:16 PM · Jun 17, 2024 //
James Woods @RealJamesWoods
·
The largest ticketed concert in U.S. history. No fights, no shootings, no burning police cars. Just 110,000 civilized fans celebrating a great American talent. What a concept! Thank you, Texas!!! 🇺🇸#GeorgeStrait
foxnews.com
George Strait breaks US concert attendance record in Texas
10:19 PM · Jun 16, 2024 //
A civilized concert for civilized people in a civilized place. //
Probable Cause
8 hours ago edited
A little Strait is a nice respite in the midst of Pride Month.
A lot of celebrities would have tried to give credence to the heckler when the proper response is ridicule and humor. Seinfeld delivered that in spades. //
heckling a professional comedian is rarely a good idea. You will get leveled. //
emptypockets
2 hours ago
Willfully ignorant but arrogantly self-important lackwits trying to get their own virtue signaling in while it's "the thing to do". Like the BLM was the "thing to do" a couple of years ago. They are not serious people or they would bother with facts. They don't so it's all just performance. //
Magnus
2 hours ago
Their purpose is not to solve the 80 years issue with Trans Jordanians and Jews, but to FEEL righteous in their vapid indignations. It's all about FEELINGS, you know.
Fibber McGee and Molly - 400305 (238) Cleaning Hall Closet (Gracie Allen)
Originally broadcast Tuesday March 5th, 1940
All right, but that radish, you might have been more careful with.
Quick, help!
There's funny little insects all over me.
Brush 'em off, quick.
Oh, calm yourself, calm yourself.
them are my trout flies. [laughter] Doggone it, Molly, why did you have to go and mess up?
[knocking] Oh, dear, come in.
Pepper McGee and Molly?
Yes.
Tell me, with all these radio shows being changed, is it true that you're going to cut your program down to a half hour?
What do you mean, cut it down?
It's only a half hour now.
What?
Boy, it sure seems like an hour. [laughter] Well, as the guy says, when he fell off of the horse and heard something bust, that sounded to me like a rib. [laughter] Well, never mind that now.
We're going to go through that pile of whatnots and throw everything out we don't need.
Oh, yeah?
Well, I've been through this stuff a hundred times and there ain't a thing of it that I can spare.
Oh, there isn't?
No.
What's this old rusty horseshoe for?
Well, I found that in 19-aught-11. [laughter] As soon as I find three more, we can pitch horseshoes in the backyard. [laughter] I see, you expect to find three more, huh?
You betcha.
You don't think the automobile is here to stay, eh?
[laughter] Won't be if we don't catch up with the payments. [laughter]
Well, McGee, I've about exhausted my impatience with you.
Why?
Packing all this useless junk back in that closet.
How about these old books?
Let's see them.
Oh, them.
Well, that's my correspondence course in taxidermy.
Taxidermy.
Why on earth did you want to study taxidermy?
Well, how did I know it meant stuffing birds in animals?
And there I was, stuck with a chauffeur's license, a city map, and a pair of puttees.
Well, hurry up and put your playthings back in the closet.
Okay.
Looks terrible laying around here on the floor with it.
I'll get it. [phone ringing] Hello?
No, this is the McGee residence.
You got the wrong number.
Oh, is that you, Mert?
Oh.
He gadd every week the same thing.
Apologies to skinny Ennis.
How's every little thing, Mert?
What say?
Your Uncle Gulliver.
Oh, that's too bad, Mert.
Oh, my.
And they ain't found the body yet, eh?
Oh, heavenly days, McGee.
What happened?
Mert's uncle drove his car off a cliff and had to walk home.
They found the chassis up in a tree, but they don't know where the body is.
What say, Mert?
Oh, that's okay, Mert.
Everybody has the wrong number now and then, except Irving Berlin.
Well, now, let's see.
McGee, why are you saving this long stick of bamboo?
Why, Molly, that's got a very definite purpose.
If I was offered a job as sparring partner for Joe Lewis, that's the 10-foot pole I wouldn't touch it with.
Being a mom is a joy. But there's also PLENTY to laugh at, and that's what these mom memes are for.
So Constable built the fence and consulted with his neighbor, artist Hanif Panni, to paint a photorealistic mural of his ship on the fence that would visually look like the boat. //
Jenn Cheng @THATJennCheng
·
Replying to @nettermike
A beautiful example of malicious compliance. This guy seems like someone we'd get along with!
4:02 PM · May 10, 2024
The Bricklayer: Trying To Do The Job Alone
Dear Sir:
I am writing in response to your request for additional information for my insurance claim. In block number three of the accident claim form I wrote, “trying to do the job alone” as the cause of my accident. You said in your letter that I should explain that statement more fully. I trust the following details will be sufficient.
I am a bricklayer by trade. On the date of the accident, I was working alone on the roof of a new six-story building. When I completed my work I discovered that I had about 500 pounds of brick left over. Rather than carrying the bricks down by hand, I decided to lower them in a barrel by using a pulley which was attached to the side of the building at the sixth-floor level.
Securing the rope at ground level, I went up to the roof, swung the barrel out, and loaded the bricks into it. Then I went back to the ground and untied the rope, holding it tightly to insure a slow descent of the 500 pounds of bricks. You will note in block number 22 of the claim form that my weight is 150 pounds.
Due to my surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded up the side of the building at a very rapid rate of speed.
In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming down. This explains my fractured skull and collarbone. Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley.
By this time, I had regained my presence of mind and was able to hold tightly to the rope in spite of my pain. At approximately the same time however, the barrel of bricks hit the ground and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Devoid of the weight of the bricks, the barrel then weighed approximately 50 pounds.
I refer you again to the information in block number 11 regarding my weight. As you might imagine, I began a rapid descent down the side of the building. In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming up. This accounts for the two fractured ankles and the lacerations of my legs and lower body.
This second encounter with the barrel slowed me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell onto the pile of bricks, and fortunately, only three vertebrae were cracked.
I am sorry to report, however, that as I lay there on the bricks in pain, unable to stand, and watching the empty barrel six stories above me, I again lost my presence of mind, and let go of the rope. The empty barrel weighed more than the rope so it came down upon me and broke both of my legs.
I hope I have furnished information sufficient to explain why “trying to do the job alone” was the stated cause of the accident.
Sincerely,
A Bricklayer
(Author Unknown)
The Bricklayer: Trying To Do The Job Alone
Dear Sir:
I am writing in response to your request for additional information for my insurance claim. In block number three of the accident claim form I wrote, “trying to do the job alone” as the cause of my accident. You said in your letter that I should explain that statement more fully. I trust the following details will be sufficient.
In Germany everything that is not allowed is forbidden.
In England everything is allowed that is not forbidden.
In France everything is allowed, even if it is forbidden.
While in North Korea it is said that "everything that is not forbidden is compulsory"
and in Russia everything is forbidden, even if it is allowed.
If something's illegal in Australia, you do it to find out why.
In America, everything is allowed if it makes a profit
I'm addicted to brake fluid, but I can stop whenever I want
he top ten reasons Eternal Damnation is better than Windows Software Development
Chris A
an hour ago
Stop feeding your leftover curry to the camels.
mopani Chris A
a minute ago
That wouldn't be a problem if the camel drivers didn't smoke
Min Headroom llme
an hour ago
Achmeed the bomb maker: “so when you are close to the infidels push the button on your paradise vest…”
Kaleed the martyr: “you mean like this?…..”
American Deplorable ™ Min Headroom llme
8 hours ago
These kids, they blow up so fast.
Evil AuditorSilver badge
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Re: Needless!!
jmch: I would have thought...
Exactly, you would have thought. And hence you wouldn't have moved the rack in the first place.
2 months
John Sager
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Re: Needless!!
Yes, another example of Chesterton's Fence.
2 months
BebuSilver badge
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Big Brother
Re: Needless!!
《Yes, another example of Chesterton's Fence.》
Or in Terry Pratchett's canine latin of Discworld
"Si non confectus, non reficiat" - family motto of the Vetinari.
《standardized perfection》
Any useful standard ought to be prefaced with the Patrician's motto.
When you think about the essential (and insane) concept of perfection anything, process or system etc once it obtains perfection must necessarily be unique to the particular instance which I would think is the antithesis of standard(ized.)
Standardization is formalizing the art of the possible not aspiration to perfection. Engineering v Theology. :)
Antoine St Exupery probably had the most sensible approach to perfection:
"Il semble que la perfection soit atteinte non quand il n'y a plus rien à ajouter, mais quand il n'y a plus rien à retrancher." -Terre des Hommes, 1939.
Here, in the extreme, perfection would be the complete absence of anything - the (philosophical) void (sans vacuum fluctuations.) He was more practically claiming a minimalist approach to design would be more likely to lead in the direction of perfection.
What follows is arguably the most famous single sequence in any Goon Show. The show is The Mysterious Punch-up-the-Conker (series 7, episode 18). About 25 minutes in the show, Bluebottle and Eccles are "in the ground floor attic" of a clock repairers. After listening to lots of timepieces ticking, chiming, cuckooing etc. for a while...
Bluebottle What time is it Eccles?
Eccles Err, just a minute. I, I've got it written down 'ere on a piece of paper. A nice man wrote the time down for me this morning.
So Shaw took the precautions available to him.
"When we got on orbit, I went down to the hatch on the side of the orbiter, and I padlocked the hatch control so that you could not open the hatch," Shaw said. "I mean, on the orbiter on orbit you can go down there and you just flip this little thing and you crank that handle once, the hatch opens and all the air goes out and everybody goes out with it, just like that. And I thought to myself, 'Jeez, I don’t know this guy very well. He might flip out or something.' So I padlocked the hatch shut right after we got on orbit, and I didn’t take the padlock off until we were in de-orbit prep." //
After the Space Shuttle Challenger accident in 1986, the focus of the Shuttle program shifted somewhat, and NASA started flying fewer payload specialists. Those who flew came to be considered more a part of the crew and were met with less suspicion. According to some Space Shuttle astronauts, the lock was used less and less often. The final payload specialist to fly on the Shuttle was Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut. He died, of course, in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003, when the vehicle broke up in the atmosphere during its return to Earth.
Although much of the concern for Shuttle commanders had come from flying non-professional astronauts, there was another incident later in the program with an all-professional crew that revived interest in the padlock program. It occurred during a 1999 flight. Because I have not been able to confirm the details with multiple sources, I won't name the astronaut or the mission. But essentially, a multiple-time flier had a bad reaction to some medicine he took after the launch. This seriously affected his mental state, and the astronaut had to be physically restrained from taking drastic action, including opening the hatch. //
This all may seem like a bit of historical trivia, but the issue lives on today. The Space Shuttle has been retired for 13 years, but the padlock remains in the fabric of US spaceflight with Crew Dragon. A commander's lock is an option for NASA's crews flying to the International Space Station on Crew Dragon, as well as private missions. //
That such incidents don't happen more often in commercial aviation may give us some comfort, but in reality, there have been many attempts by passengers to open an emergency exit door in flight. (Fortunately, it's almost impossible at cruising altitudes). And given that it has happened with two people out of the approximately 650 who have gone to space, it suggests the odds are non-negligible.
Nield concluded his note to me with a request. "Let me know," he said, "if you have any thoughts on how to mitigate the risks."
I wish I did. //
jeremyp66 Ars Scholae Palatinae 7y 811
YetAnotherBoris said:
The solution is obvious in this age of AI: automate all hatches, and put a computer exclusively in charge of activating them. The computer will be in turn controlled by a totally stable and reliable AI, with which the crew can communicate via voice interface.Bonus points if it's called HAL...
The Hatch AI Lock
The precursor to the Internet carried its first login request on October 29, 1969. //
On October 29, 1969, at 10:30pm Pacific Time, the first two letters were transmitted over ARPANET. And then it crashed. About an hour later, after some debugging, the first actual remote connection between two computers was established over what would someday evolve into the modern Internet.
Funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (the predecessor of DARPA), ARPANET was built to explore technologies related to building a military command-and-control network that could survive a nuclear attack. But as Charles Herzfeld, the ARPA director who would oversee most of the initial work to build ARPANET put it:
The ARPANET was not started to create a Command and Control System that would survive a nuclear attack, as many now claim. To build such a system was, clearly, a major military need, but it was not ARPA's mission to do this; in fact, we would have been severely criticized had we tried. Rather, the ARPANET came out of our frustration that there were only a limited number of large, powerful research computers in the country, and that many research investigators, who should have access to them, were geographically separated from them. //
The first letters transmitted, sent from UCLA to Stanford by UCLA student programmer Charley Kline, were "l" and "o." On the second attempt, the full message text, login, went through from the Sigma 7 to the 940. So, the first three characters ever transmitted over the precursor to the Internet were L, O, and L. //
When it was shut down, Vinton Cerf, one of the fathers of the modern Internet, wrote a poem in ARPANET's honor:
It was the first, and being first, was best,
but now we lay it down to ever rest.
Now pause with me a moment, shed some tears.
For auld lang syne, for love, for years and years
of faithful service, duty done, I weep.
Lay down thy packet, now, O friend, and sleep.
LordP666 said:
I think everyone is vastly overthinking AI.
In my opinion all we need are smart individual devices with built in AI.
Take a smart lamp - all it needs to know is it's name, it must recognize your voice, and what it must do:
Lampy McLampface, Level 2
That's it! If a thief breaks in he can suck eggs because he can't turn on a lamp or anything else. He can steal the lamp, but again...eggs, because Lampy will miss his owner and never turn on for anyone else.
How about a car? A thief gets in the car and he says Fordy McFordface "Start", and Fordy says "screw you thief, you are not the boss of me" and starts honking his horn while locking the doors.
Smart devices need to be more like very loyal dogs. ///
Best a/i comment ever