* Posts by EBG

275 publicly visible posts • joined 7 Nov 2016

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Attacks on UK fiber networks mount: Operators beg govt to step in

EBG

have an upvote

I can't fathom of the reasoning of those who have down voted you. I am very much a non-violent type. But I married someone from a country which is societally much more aggressive than the UK. I have learned that, when there, there are regular occasions have to give out heavy "don't mess with me" signals, or I will get pissed on.

Australia passes Right To Disconnect law, including (for now) jail time for bosses who email after-hours

EBG

Yup

the c-suite are the ones who put the middle managers in an impossible position so they "have to" contact out of hours. That's the problem with the "jail 'em" approach. Better to fine the tits off the company.

CERN seeks €20B to build a bigger, faster, particle accelerator

EBG

if you read the paper

it gives an impressive list of MOD successes for dynamics on the galactic scale. ( In some ways you expect it to, as it was tailored to galaxy rotation anomalies that ΛCDM cannot explain. But seems to be covering quite a range of effects/observations on this scale ). The paper shows that it MOND isn't working on a much smaller scale of the larger (i.e. weakly coupled) binary star systems, whilst ΛCDM is.

So, you seem to be mis-quoting the paper, which concludes "While our results falsify MOND as currently understood, given the many problems for ΛCDM discussed in that work, our results cannot be used to argue that it is the correct model either − both models are clearly incomplete".

ΛCDM being the established non-MOND version of general relativity, inclusive of its Newtonian limit.

EBG
Joke

they can plug it in ..

... to ITER

EBG

Ah, but

as an undergraduate physics-chemistry student, I was a " physics or stamp collecting" man. Year 1 of post grad with a need to produce a particular molecule to study, I find myself bimbling along to some friendly organic chemists - ah, if you've got a couple of spare minutes guys, have you any ideas on how you would make X ? Brutal end of any delusions of intellectual superiority.

EBG

Re: But is Dark Matter real?

It's a Rescuing Hypothesis needed because the numbers don't add up when you use existing theory. Might end up true. Might not.

Space exploitation vs space exploration: Humanity has much to learn from the Voyager probes

EBG

Agree

I want fundamental science to be done as well, but making flakey, if not outright false, claims for it is not sensible. The Faraday line about electricity is ancient history and just doesn't cut it. Just consider that almost all of what practically matters to us - chemistry/biochemistry/materials behaviour - runs at around the 0.1 eV - 1eV regime. CERN has explored physics up to 10 TeV. Way beyond anything that could be technologically applicable.

BOFH: Looks like you're writing an email. Fancy telling your colleague to #$%^ off?

EBG

Re: Excellent!

Yeh. Think it's desiccated to remove any water vapour absorption lines.

Apple redecorates its iPhone prison to appease Europe

EBG

Re: The Law Has No Teeth

Honest question - does the continental "Roman Law" system require adherence to the spirit of the law ? it seem to be a much more prescriptive and literal system than ours.

Drivers: We'll take that plain dumb car over a flashy data-spilling internet one, thanks

EBG

Re: Big brother is creeping up behind you.

Vote differently ? You haven't been to any APPGs, and rubbed shoulders with them. They've all been brainwashed by the lobbyists.

EBG

Re: ransomware

The Stasi didn't have AI. OK - AI is shit, but do you think they will care about 15% inaccuracies ?

BOFH: Nice air conditioning system. Would be a shame if anything happened to it

EBG

did a speed awareness course recently

all good stuff. Except when the the tutor tried to convince us not to pre-judge other drivers, and that those driving german cars were not disproportionately the head-bangers. Credibility shot. I tested it on the way home - one nutter in an Alfa Romeo, all the rest beamers and mercs.

Boffins demo self-eating rocket engine in Scotland

EBG

Re: Pedant? moi?

You had to be there.

Another airline finds loose bolts in Boeing 737-9 during post-blowout fleet inspections

EBG

an airbus

full of Japanese who will behave responsibly

EBG

maybe urban legend

but I was told they came close to running an advertising campaign. " use loctitie or loose your nuts"

Nearly 200 Boeing 737 MAX 9 airplanes grounded after door plug flies off mid-flight

EBG

interesting

..that there are multiple items that they have found to be loose - not just a specific bolt !!

New cars bought in the UK must be zero emission by 2035 – it's the law

EBG

Re: So the last will be first, and the first will be last.

Net zero policy will increase inequality, not reset it.

We will not "give up" our mobility - it will be taken from us.

EBG

Re: Nigel is that you?

I've worked at the edges of future transport policy. You're aware of the transport select committee report stating that private car ownership is incompatible with net zero? What is your understanding of MaaS (mobility as a service) ?

EBG

Road pricing.

We'll be made to pre-pay our journey, with our car being geo-fenced to comply with the route we've paid for. The roads we use will be franchised out, and the road price will be dynamically set by the francishee, just the way rail now (doen't) work.

EBG

Re: Hmmm..

Fine - let's put the whole stupid idea on hold until that's actually demonstrated

EBG

"are promising"

The standard PR mouthings of academics cosplaying translational technology. Nothing bankable - zilch. Nada.

Artificial intelligence is a liability

EBG

Agree

I think the debate around AI can easily be used as a distraction from ensuring corporates are responsible for their products and actions.

Swedish Tesla strike goes international as Norwegian and Danish unions join in

EBG

old enough

to remember the culture shock of Japanese cars coming on the market. The reliability was a revelation.

Greenpeace calls out tech giants for carbon footprint fumble

EBG

Re: Ha

dead sheep, if memory is correct.

South Korea opens the door for robots to roam among pedestrians

EBG

Re: Sudden Impact

Probably less dangerous than the fast-food moped delivery idiots. Often on provisional (i.e. learner) licenses, and on a time metric. Not an endorsement of the robot solution, more a moan that we can't properly and safely regulate anything anymore.

How much to clean up a ransomware infection? For Rackspace, about $11M

EBG

Re: will be and has been reduced by insurance payments

Bemused as to why you were down-arrowed. I'd go further as the societal loss is multiplied up from the nominal loss many times over when money gets into the hands of crime gangs.

UK throws millions at scheme to heat homes with waste energy from datacenters

EBG

Thank you

for sharing your knowledge

EBG

in a previous incarnation ..

an insider told me, in her words, that it was " a department at war with itself". Although, with a little thought, what else could it be ??

PS - when it was DEC, so maybe 10 years ago

EBG

government BS

The first link (DNZES) quote "One of these successful projects will see .... "

HTF do you call something a "successful project" when you've only just announced it !?

Tenfold electric vehicles on 2030 roads could be a shock to the system

EBG

well

The Reg commentariat are certainly wised up.

EBG

on the rail side ..

Did a few years at the end of by career in this. Now have sympathy for whoever is minister of transport. Remember the saying about the Troubles in NI - if you think you have the answer, you don't understand the problem. Sure - there are mistakes. f-ed up franchising system, HS2, shyte management in NR - but if you think there's an "answer" or that throwing money at it will do anyhting, ... err nope

Millions of smart meters will brick it when 2G and 3G turns off

EBG

here's an idea

They could be swapped out for traditional (dumb) meters. Job's a good 'un

British boffins say aircraft could fly on trash, cutting pollution debt by 80%

EBG

Re: they've moved on

The "own nothing" crowd are part big industry who are rent-seeking. As an IT website, we're all aware of the software-as-a-service and other subscription models that are being pushed on the customer. This thinking goes beyond IT, for example MaaS - mobility as a service (attacks on private car ownership). Add in this generation's "property is theft" ideologues, who have more of an "in" to the levers of power than they did when I were a lad.

EBG

FIFY

It's always interesting to see how deeply entrenched thinking is amongst the El Reg commentariat.

EBG

Re: jesus h on a bike

Everything is " just" a a matter of processing, if the processing budget is infinite. But it ain't.

EBG

Re: except

It's more than that, though. The climate change act makes it illegal not to have these "plans". Which means that gov and industry have to have them, irrespective of whether they will work. Which means that they're not the kind of plans that you can automatically trust.

EBG

Re: they've moved on

Oh, look - a red herring. If you've got debt issues, that's your problem, not mine.

EBG

jesus h on a bike

jet fuel is nothing like diesel. Except at the " they're both hydrocarbons" level - and strangely you need to drill deeper than that to devise an industrial strategy.

You can stick almost anything in a diesel engine. You have to be very careful indeed as to what you stick in an aero engine.

EBG

they've moved on

from "you will own nothing and be happy" to "you will own nothing, and do nothing, and be happy"

EBG

except

there isn't a plan to generate (in a carbon free manner) and distribute the vast amounts of electricity needed to decarbonise everything in sight, inclusive these energy intensive industries.

Oh - and detailed, workable, when dreamed up by academics, lobby groups, etc. more often then not excludes economically viable from the "workable" bit.

EBG

more BS university studies

from academics who have knowledge of only a fraction of what is needed to run an industry like aviation. And even then, laced with "could", "has the potential to", yada yada.

Russia to ban all VPNs – again – says senator

EBG

thank you

for pointing this out. I was unaware of it and just checked - yes my ISP is also blocking it. Motivated me, for the first time, to check out tor. No real interest in RT, but a real interest in knowing that I can now access it should I wish. Cheers - I've learned something today.

UK civil servants – hopefully including those spending billions on tech – to skill up in STEM

EBG

reconstitute the scientific civil service

which was dismantled in the 1990's. With the traditional civil service ethic of providing expert, impartial advice to ministers, and being grilled on their advice at every step in the chain.

Then we can get shot of the unholy mix of commercial chancers, single issue lobby groups, and academics ticking off their "impact" KPI. Over all of which there is no quality control, no cross check on "agendas", and no accountability for the results of their input.

EBG

yes

Experience at the sharp end of the world outside Whitehall will come from tech companies, research institutes and universities. Universities - sharp end - ha, ha, ha.

Even the "research institutes" are now often government funded adjuncts to universities. The days of major company R&D labs, ultimately beholden to the product production directors, are gone. So that just leaves "tech companies" - potentially some good exchanges, or some bad ones if they choose the subsidy junkies who are part of the problem.

Microsoft calls time on ancient TLS in Windows, breaking own stuff in the process

EBG

OK - you curse the beancounters

while the rest of the world curses the IT industry for not supplying a robust product in the first place.

Germany's wild boars still too radioactive to eat largely due to Cold War nuke tests

EBG

quite logical

it takes exactly twice the amount of 137-Cs to harm an American.

They have twice the body weight

Aspiration to deploy new UK nuclear reactor every year a 'wish', not a plan

EBG

also

hydrogen embrittlement.

We need to be first on the Moon, uh, again, says NASA

EBG

very predictably

Turkey has just leveraged it's value to "The West" re.Ukraine to violate the UN neutral zone in Cyprus

/sarc indeed

EBG

it was because

even god didn't trust the brits in the dark

Judge denies HP's plea to throw out all-in-one printer lockdown lawsuit

EBG

let's hope they win

a personal gripe (Canon - and that's after choosing them for having the least shitty software) won't pint B+W when the colour cartridge is out of ink

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