Posts by Glen 1 971 publicly visible posts • joined 17 Jun 2009
"An Earth to Moon transfer and Moon to Earth transfer are very small amounts of Delta-V compared to getting into orbit."
Yes, but you have to get that fuel up there in the first place. The tyranny of the rocket equation and all that jazz.
If we could make the fuel on the Moon, that makes things interesting. It also influenced the fuel choice for Starship (for Mars)
"Perl slowly dies, and Python lives on. The Python people were right: they may not be very good at language design, but they are better than almost everyone."
I have ranted (possibly somewhat unfairly), about Perl going the way of COBOL in these sort of threads previously. I am a sometime defender of Python - Mostly as a counterpoint to "If it doesn't compile to machine code, is it even a real language" type posts.
I make the point that we are payed to solve a problem, not marvel at how smart we are, and point at the layers of abstraction involved in web apps that some here believe "...should just be written in C or C++ to begin with..."
That said, I agree with you about how sometimes its the artistry that is satisfying. However that's our own personal gratification, not the client's. If you can find a client/patron to scratch that itch, then I congratulate you.
"As a country we are a net contributor, one of the more successful countries and not in the appalling Euro currency. But yeah sure we have been had."
So you think going cap in hand to the IMF in the 70s was mark of success, yeah? We've been one of the more successful countries *SINCE WE JOINED* largely down to trade with and through the EU.
That's where you've been had. You think we've been successful *despite* the EU, rather than *because* of it. It's not difficult to point out the obvious. Just because a teenager can figure it out doesn't mean it's not true.
'Unabated drivel"
Contradict a single reference I made. Go on. Show us it's drivel.
"Professionals... Thicker than pigshit"
Think about what you just typed. Just like how the flat earth society has members around the globe. Trusting homeopathy rather than a doctor. Because hey, leavers have had enough of experts
"Only ones who have benefited..."
This has been refuted so many times I'm just gonna leave this link here.
What has the EU ever done for us?
"Backhanders to Slovenia"
Do you mean the regional development fund, that we also benefit from? Or are you talking about something else?
"cool, polite and rational"
Metaphorically machine gunning people with facts (or 'facts') kinda hides a lot of the nasty emotions behind the keyboard.
The counterpoints are ignored. You can absolutely demolish someone's basic premise with a whole host of references, and they just change tac. Piling on talking points as if that adds weight to a flawed premise.
Look at the opinion polls doing the rounds. 'Britain Elects' currently has the Conservatives >6% lead over Labour, but whatukthinks.org (aggregates several polls) has remain at 51%. It's quite easy to cherry pick surveys to get to whatever position you want. I recall channel 4 calling both sides out over this during interviews.
Whenever a politician would cite a poll to back up their position, they would be asked "Which poll?" It's rare that either side would have an answer.
"totally ignored their complaints."
Well yeah, when the complaints consisted of "too many furrners" when EU nationals are more profitable for the taxman *EVEN WHEN YOU INCLUDE THE ONES ON THE DOLE*
How do you address that? How do you address that ignorant fucks dont like accents?
Link in case you think I was making it up.
Other complaints:
"Something something sovereignty."
For every single EU law and regulation, the UK has not only had a seat at the table, but has voted *FOR 98% of them* In the whole history of the EU, there are 56-72 law the UK was outvoted on (depending on who you talk to)
Link in case you think I'm making that one up.
"The working classes were so screwed over they would take any opportunity to take down the smug elitists"
Yes, but not by the EU.
The EU pours millions into regions the Tories couldn't give a fuck about.
The EU (up until the referendum) funded a massive part of research in our universities the the govs of the day just wouldn't.
The EU is the largest market to sell the goods those industrial heartlands produce. Having trade barriers selling (say, cars) into the EU *will* hurt those regions that can ill afford it.
We have *always* been able to kick out EU migrants who were "a burden" but we're *STILL NOT DOING IT*, even now.
Perhaps you can tell us how many problems will be solved by leaving the EU when we will *STILL HAVE TO ABIDE BY THEIR RULES* if we want to trade with them.
They are >50% of our trade, were are ~10% of theirs.
When those screaming about sovereignty realise that they are worse off out, there will be trouble.
'Thats why I said "for your own use".'
Which could have meant your own companies use. (I admit, it didn't in this case)
"might just as well write the whole program in C or C++ "
Hey Guys! Boltar is volunteering to write a full web application in C or C++! Good Luck with that.
As i've said elsewhere:
"I'm paying someone to solve a problem, not to give themself a blowjob over how smart they are - that's how LISP happened."
"Sure there are times when you *want* to juggle memory addresses, but a regular CRUD app? Nah. If there are performance issues somewhere down the road, there are several layers of abstraction to peel back before I start looking at (for example) C SELECT calls. That's commonly called "premature optimisation" is is frowned upon by those with a clue."
--
The above poster found a bottleneck, and solved it. They didn't "build the whole thing in C or C++" with the required (expensive) level of expertise and subsequent debugging issues. The resources were spent where they were measurably needed, not self flagellating about the tradeoffs of interpreted languages.
'According to numerous "Pastors" here in the USA, every single word in the Bible is the literal word of God.'
It always makes me laugh, then sigh, that people believe that.
I remember a documentary where Historians compared versions of the bible. They could date particular details/stories because *THEY WERE NOT IN THE EARLIER VERSIONS* .
*sigh*
That would be the difference between an independent cafe where it's the owner serving you vs a overworked (hungover?) student part timer who is in the middle of taking a delivery and hasn't had chance to put the tills on yet. (Think Costa/Nero/Greggs employee).
Sometimes I think it should be legally mandated that people work retail/kitchen/bar for at least a year of their life. Would probably be better for their worldview than National Service.
RE: Search queries
That comes from Googling a one liner to do what we want, without looking at the caveats.
Sometimes those caveats are not well documented, sometimes the call is an abstraction outside our expertise, sometimes the dev is just a bad dev.
I've never had to call LDAP before (or AD for that matter), so my search queries would probably suck. For the sake of our fellow commentards, how would I "construct an efficient search query"?
"You know, I'd like very much to fly a Boeing-777 and I know that the auto-pilot can do all the job for me"
Can you name a modern jetliner that doesn't use fly-by-wire? All those assists and features that let you get on with flying the damn plane?
Compare to something like writing a web scraper in python, or even a simple 2d game engine. If it solves the business problem (flies the plane), then why would I pay someone to juggle memory addresses?
I'm paying someone to solve a problem, not to give themself a blowjob over how smart they are - that's how LISP happened.
Sure there are times when you *want* to juggle memory addresses, but a regular CRUD app? Nah. If there are performance issues somewhere down the road, there are several layers of abstraction to peel back before I start looking at (for example) C SELECT calls. Thats commonly called "premature optimisation" is is frowned upon by those with a clue.
"The number one cause of scooter injuries are scooters. Scooters for adults has to be the perfect example of how fekking stupid the world has become.
That they are a rental business is even more absurd."
Replace the word "scooter" with "bicycle", and you will have a not uncommonly held opinion around these parts (that I don't share). Yes, bicycles are more stable, but that means fuck all if some idiot who shouldn't be driving sideswipes you.
Have you ever played count the clicks?
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While moving your pointer for the previous 2, it goes outside the browsing area, so the page launches a pop over about signing up for a newsletter.
Add insertions moving the content you are currently reading.
Auto play videos - that you can't immediately dismiss because of the other ads overlaying it.
The web is starting to look like Sky Sports during the football results with all the overlays.
"Hardly any developers these days care about performance or optimisation."
Clients pay the bills, and if *they* don't say anything, is it worth spending the man hours on? It's the clients that are impressed by the bells and whistles, and that is ultimately what they open their checkbooks for.
When the problem hardware you speak of is a wet string internet connection, but the client still wants, oh, let's say a detailed background image covering the whole border (like el reg's ads), then you either piss off the client or you make it work. Add to that the fact the client probably *won't* have that wet string internet connection, and it becomes "someone else's problem" .
No its not great, but as long as clients want and pay for the bloat, that's what we will keep getting. See the Gawker sites as a prime example of this. That's when you have tricks like too-much-js used to lazy load then fade in images that weigh in at 100s of kB for a text based site.
"actually need to know all this unnecessary nonsense to be able to do your work."
Yep, when was the last time you saw somebody develop front end without jQuery? That's just the tip of the iceberg.
"Standards differ, and so do degrees."
Indeed, a Bachelor's is not a Master's but if you can't compare between bachelors degrees of the same subject by grade, then what's the point in the grade?
If I have a BSc (1st class hons) from the former Polly, and I'm up against some one with a 2:2 from a Russell Uni, how do they compare?
My point is that they should not be called the same thing. if they are held to a higher standard, it should be reflected in the qualification. Call them Russell degrees or something rather than Bachelors. Have the higher standard be reflected in the name.
Then you have to ask question: Is a Russel degree worth more than a Master's from a former Polly? phD?
Otherwise its like saying you have a CCNA from Oxford.
"The referendum was won", then the goalposts were moved.
Just as people who voted to "stay in the European Community" may have changed their mind when the goalposts moved with the Lisbon treaty.
By that logic as we initially voted to be a member of the organisation that became the EU, we should be a member permanently. It is, as you say, fairly boolean concept - and just as flawed. That's before we get onto whether a Brexit-in-name-only would honour the referendum*
"which of the various groups from various remain and various brexit do we bolster with their supporters?"
That is a matter for the electorate. If we end up with largely the same gov, or more Brexiteers, then no deal it is. However, I doubt it.
*It would, and was what Labour was aiming for. The arrogance of some of the politicians to complain that what was on the table in the withdrawal agreement was not as good as what we currently have (Duh). To have the mental capacity to realise that, yet still think its the EU that's going to come off worse... Idiocy.
"Why? The referendum result was won. The referendum question of remain or leave the EU."
The referendum was won by a *slim* majority on the basis that we would have an orderly withdrawal followed by a free trade agreement.
May called a snap election on the basis that she would increases her majority in order to have her deal through parliament. We ended up with a hung parliament that was only resolved through the confidence and supply arrangement with the DUP. Hardly a convincing victory.
Then we have the ERG arguing for no deal when EVERY leave politician I can think of dismissed it as scaremongering in the past. The same people who are now trying to say that's what we wanted all along. This was not put to the people until the European elections.
At face value, Brexit Ltds victory, looks fairly emphatic, until you add up the remain vote split across other parties. The question then becomes how much of the Tory/Labour vote would have been for leave or remain? The link I posted earlier admittedly takes a one sided approach to those sums, but then, so is screaming "we won you lost get over it".
"Amusingly to stop a no deal brexit there has to be agreement on a new course of action"
Indeed, and the only way *thats* going to happen is with a different set of MPs, and parliament is tantalisingly close to being able to enact a vote of no confidence. At that point, the only thing that would give any new arrangement a mandate is through a public vote (either a GE or 2nd Ref).
Johnson is quite obviously in GE campaign mode - suddenly there is a magic money tree, and has pledged to increase the number of police to a number similar to what they were before the tories came to power ..
'fantasy election result'
You mean like a General Election manifesto based on an orderly withdrawal suddenly becoming a mandate for no deal without a single vote being cast for the change?
If people wanted no deal, they would have continued voting for UKIP at the GE (Brexit Ltd having yet to exist then). Yet the Ukip vote collapsed. Yes remainers have to squint a bit to see a path to remain* , but to say No Deal is what the public want requires a whole lot of "lalala not listening" and outright denial that the things we were warned about are starting to happen.**
*(current squint is vote of no confidence, with whatever happens afterwards requiring either a 2nd ref os a GE)
**"Project Fear" and "Yes X, Y and Z, places are closing, that's nothing to do with brexit. And if it is, its short term. And if its not short term, our manufacturing industry well be leaner and more competitive as a result. What do you mean we are still competing with polish workers, except this time they are in poland will full access to the EU?" or one direct quote I heard "The UK is a service economy, the manufacturing industry will be run down like the coal mines were. It will be fine"
"but I doubt very much if the experience and finals exam after 4 years at an Oxford college or MIT or Stanford is comparable to that from an ex-Poly."
Why?
If they are to a different standard, then they are *not* the same qualification. Does that mean *any* non Russell group/ivy whatever should not be allowed to award degrees? Or should what the clever rich people get be called something else?
Then perhaps you can explain what they think they are saving us from?
Pretty much everything someone has said we needed "saving" from have been things our gov had a say in, and for the most part, was all for. No amount of protection from the EU can protect us from our own gov. (although thanks to things like the ECG, the opposite is not true).
As for reasons to stay, being able to tell China and the US to do one when they flex their economic muscles is just the first off the top of my head. Trump has already got his eye on the NHS, with Johnson quite happily bending over for him.
The young people see the older people taking advantage of membership of the EU through their working life, and now pulling the ladder up behind them.
Its not something limited to the EU, things like final salary pensions, house prices relative to income, retirement age increasing...
I chose the one where the remain parties got a higher share of the vote than the leave parties. Y'know, the most recent one - now the lie after lie of the brexiteers are being revealed for what they are.
Don't get me wrong, there is a legitimate debate to be had, but when that conversation is being shouted out by "something something immigrants" and promises of Unicorns. Those arguments are met with the scorn they deserve.
Ask Birmingham City University. Not to be confused with the University of Birmingham. One is a Russell Group Uni, the other is a former polly.
<rant>
What gets me, is that qualifications (of the same subject) are *supposed* to be worth the same. Private school kids sit the same GCSEs
The whole point of exam boards is to make sure grades are being awarded consistently. I might make an exception where Oxbridge folks go straight into a phD from being an undergrad, but otherwise... why do they think their 2:1 is worth more?
Sure, the degree only matters to get the foot in the door, but why does a degree in philosophy from a Russell group Uni give you more of a leg up in a software career than a comp sci degree from elsewhere. Jobs for the boys.
</rant>
#notbitter #maybealittle
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