Posts by Barnsey123

Boffins demand: Cull bogus A-Levels, hire brainier teachers

EDUCATION

Start Violin music: I came from a poor background and attended a secondary school "comprehensive" in the 70's that could be politely described as "rough". There was drugs, knives and, I sh*t you not, pitchforks! All the bad things that happen in schools today we're happening then, including the constant dicking around with the curriculum, trendy teaching methods that always failed, overcrowded "mixed ability" classes, streaming poorly applied, then cancelled, then poorly applied again. Having to stand in a seperate queue and even at seperate tables (like lepers) if you had the misfortune to qualify for "free" school dinners. Teaching to the exam was common and just as ineffective.

I left school with Grade B's (O Levels, not A's) in Maths, Physics and Chemistry and a CSE GRADE 1 in Computers (we had one teletype machine and punched cards! Yay). Somehow, I've managed to carve myself out a decent career in IT (after doing a BTEC at college - they paid me 25 quid a week to do it 50% went to mum and the other third [joke] went on beer and SPACE DEFENDER). End Violin music.

The POINT is, you can still succeed DESPITE our lame education system (and it's been lame for over 30 years). I'd have KILLED to be allowed to do A-levels and go onto university and I get so angry when I see "students" wasting their opportunites to study complete gash like "media studies". I'm angry that "soft" subjects are taught at university at all. The world (not just UK) needs to select the very best people (from an early age) and encourage and exploit their scientific capabilites. for it is SCIENCE and TECHNOLOGY that will solve the problems of the world and not our capability to make documentaries about it or expressing ourselves through th e medium of dance. I'm rambling. Hang all politicians (especially Shirley Williams, remember her?)

Grenade, coz we're all gonna need one soon.

If you are wondering about the pitchfork, some kid bought it in and attacked a PE teacher with it, didn't see it myself though.

Oh, one more thing...Religious Education should be banned in schools. It destroys the mind (which of course, is it's purpose).

With net unplugged, Egypt cracks down on journos

...back in UK

So er, he was turfed into the gutter for his own protection was he? Makes yer proud!

I can now sleep safely in my bed at night in the full knowledge that disabled wheelchair users who are, let's face it, a menace to society, will be dealt with in the most robust manner. They represent a clear and present danger to the very fabric of our society (and to themselves).

Locked his wheels did he? The devious sod! Plod outwitted again.

Maybe it was all a setup, maybe someone will profit from the resulting propaganda but what's our country coming to when the disabled are dealt with so severely? I can't think of a single scenario where I would do the same as those brave boys. Shame on them and shame on this country that didn't react with the outrage that it should have done.

I mean, seriously. WTF? Sorry to go on but WTF?!!!

Meanwhile in UK...

Although what's about to happen in Egypt probably wont be very nice we must remember that similar things happen in our "liberal western democracies". Just a few weeks ago, our very own police force attacked a disabled student protester (get this, half a dozen police officers dragged him out of his wheel chair, hitting him and dragged him across the floor...he had Celebral Palsy!!! ). His crime was to be involved with a student protest. I watched his TV interview on the BBC morning News where the newsman kept cutting him off everytime he tried to say something controversial. I didn't see it on the evening news and it all got brushed under the carpet.

We in UK are a long way from being a brutal dictatorship but it looks like we've made a start. I haven't heard anything from the police on this one but I hope they had a better excuse then "I vos only obeying zee orders". If they can do this to a wheelchair-bound kid with celebral palsy then what would they be prepared to do to the rest of us if we step out of line?

The footage that I saw reminded me of another clip I once saw on TV. It was of an old lady being dragged along the road by her hair by a police officer or paramiltary type. But that was another time and another place (Germany 1938, Kristallnacht). Wedge, thin end, anyone?

As for Egypt, the attack on the museum looked a bit staged. Any looters would likely go for the shiny stuff and not the relatively worthless mummified cats and pottery that was left strategically lying around for the cameras to see.

As for the internet being cut off, well it just shows what a powerful tool it can be. However, be careful, if you say anything controversial on it then there WILL be people taking notes...Big Brother IS watching. Mind you, if you're doing nothing wrong you've got nothing to fear (unless you're a cripple in a wheelchair...).

Lame Stuxnet worm 'full of errors', says security consultant

World's First cyber-security weapon?

Hmmm. don't know about that. Just before the first Gulf War (1991) a printer (or something) was delivered to the Iraqi military that contained some funky software (last minute firmware job, I think) that absolutely clobbered the Iraqi military logistics system (equipment/supplies being delivered to all the wrong places at all the wrong times). If not THE first cyber-war weapon it's got to be pretty close. Forgive me if my memory is fuzzy on this matter. Maybe it was the worlds first cyber-practical joke (it being clever AND funny).

Grenade, cos it's all about war and stuff. Why can't we all just get along and re-direct our energies and technology to space travel? you know, something constructive that moves the human race forwards instead of backwards all the time?

LHC pulverises previous record: 2.36 TeV surprise collision!

Warning: remember Tempest

Is it me or did the screenshots from the LHC system bear a passing resemblance to an old arcade game called TEMPEST where "things" from another dimension kept climbing out the hole in the middle (in a range of about 8 colors) and you moved around the outside shooting inwards with your erm, partical emitter which "collided" with the crawly things and destroyed them.

Is this the same thing? Is it? IS IT? We need to know the truth.

BBC publishes Freeview HD timetable

HD-Ready? I'm annoyed

@John Bailey, @graham33. You're both missing the point. The vast majority of people, including myself, thought that HD-ready MEANT "ready for HD" not "ready for HD as long as you've got another load of boxes connected up to your TV first". I fully agree with @Anonymous Coward.

TV is technology for the MASSES and it HAS to be made simple. It's no good trying to explain to granny about MPEG-4 and DVB-T etc et bloody cetera. So therefore you put a sticker on the telly saying "HD Ready", "Freeview" and has the "digital tick" on it. These nice shiny stickers are there to reassure ORDINARY people (not the technocracy) that what you're buying is what you're getting (so they don't get ripped off). With those three you will be forgiven for assuming that you should be able to see Freeview HD broadcasts on a new TV....but you can't... I figured that Freeview HD would come along as soon as the analogue signal was turned off as that would free up loads of bandwidth but no, it's another box I'm afraid, dear.

What annoys me is that the people "in the know" sneer at us ordinary folk who don't really understand the subtle differences between TV encoding signals etc. Why should we HAVE to know. There's a sticker on it, right?

I'm angry.