Early Risers.

[Hroth]

6 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

it makes you wonder how many people they employ to do text chat on a F1 race.

 

Sometimes the infrequency of the rolling F1 comment makes me think that there's only one, they're enjoying the coverage themselves and are forgetful of the fact that they're supposed to be updating the thing!

 

[woodenhead]

3 minutes ago, Hroth said:

 

Sometimes the infrequency of the rolling F1 comment makes me think that there's only one, they're enjoying the coverage themselves and are forgetful of the fact that they're supposed to be updating the thing!

 

They're probably watching Sky so the text commentary is based off that

[Hroth]

1 minute ago, TheQ said:

Big piece on TV this morning about using AI robot voices to commentate on sports matches..

 

 

Most commentary is drivel, instantly forgettable, but will AI raise to the heights of "They think its all over..." and "The bowlers Holding, the batsmans Willey"?

[woodenhead]

8 minutes ago, TheQ said:

Big piece on TV this morning about using AI robot voices to commentate on sports matches..

 

 

2 minutes ago, Hroth said:

 

Most commentary is drivel, instantly forgettable, but will AI raise to the heights of "They think its all over..." and "The bowlers Holding, the batsmans Willey"?

Some actual concrete proposal or a pie in the 'Sky' fantasy.

 

ChatGPT is not really AI, it is a very clever guess the next word machine learning.  So basically it would need to watch what is going on, understand the objective of the game, understand the strategy being employed and then what sort of things it needs to say and when.  It also needs time to think of the answer, so there could be a lag between the ball hitting the net and the AI saying anything more clever than "GOAL!!!!!!".

 

 

[tigerburnie]

14 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Possibly the exception to the rule? My Scottish friends certainly assure me that there is a Highland/Lowland divide (can’t say for Wales), but in Scotland industry is in the south of country.

Not any more, apart from most of the distilleries being in Northern half, engineering for the oil and now off shore wind turbines is north of the Forth these days.

[tigerburnie]

6 hours ago, TheQ said:

Certainly the case when I was at school in the Hebrides and Inverness, the Gaels would call the Scots "sassanachs", the Scots would call the Gaels "teuchters".

https://youtu.be/J8XT8oTcko0

 

The old highlanders would say the English did the Highland clearances, but in actual fact it was the English speaking Scots from the south and east that were mostly responsible.

The Doric speakers call anyone from the country as apposed to the town as "teuchters" these days, including me..............................................

[southern42]

I had my lunch outside again earlier this afternoon. I was three quarters through when the dark clouds yonder got nearer...

 

 

and darker...

 

A breeze had already picked up. There was a slight dampness in the air. The sun went in. I put my lunch to one side.  The washing went into the porch. I sat down and finished my lunch. I then started to resize a box to fit one of my shopping spree returns by which time the dark clouds had moved on, with no sound of thunder and no sign of rain. The sun came out. The washing went out. Mostly blue sky now and time for a mugadecaf.

 

 

[grandadbob]

My parcel arrived after lunch so I walked down to The Shed about an hour and a half ago.  The thermometer was reading 32.6°C so I made my excuses and left.  Also left the door and windows open in the faint hope that it will cool down a bit.....it has, to 31°C.  Now back in the house which is a bit cooler but not much.  Some breeze and dampness would be nice about now.

Edited June 22, 2023 by grandadbob

[woodenhead]

News outlets reporting they have found a debris field near the Titanic.

 

The search may be reaching it's conclusion, I cannot imagine how hard it must be for loved ones waiting for news especially where there has been a countdown ticking from 96 hours.

 

 

[DaveF]

Another lovely day here with the temperature around 21C and a pleasant sea breeze.  Out of the breeze it feels very hot in the sun.

 

I visited church as usual for communion which was followed by coffee and large slices of cake to say farewell to an elderly lady who is moving to live with her family near London.  After that I called at Homebase and came back with the things I need for the next batch of jobs, but they will have to wait until it is a bit cooler.  Somehow 5 scented geranium plants, all different scents, jumped into my trolley while I was browsing the plants in the garden section.  They are now in the greenhouse having had the odd dead leaf removed.  I've always liked scented geraniums but lost my last ones last winter - they were elderly and woody and cuttings from them did not take.  Not many places seem to stock them nowadays, a lot of people see them as quite old fashioned.

 

I had lunch and then tidied more of the garden, mainly deadheading climbing roses and removing a few weeds.  After that I went to the beach for a walk along the prom, with a long sit on a bench watching the world go by.  Somehow people seem to look very different from when I was young and I would find some of the modern clothes very uncomfortable.  There were a number of terns diving for fish, most of the rest of the gulls were just standing around on the sand doing nothing at all.

 

Since I've come home I've been reading, that will probably continue after tea.  I had an attack of cramp in one leg while I was reading, it can usually be cured by either a can of tonic water or a glass of salt water.  This time I decided it was probably caused by a lack of salt as I have sweated a lot recently, so I had a glass of water with a quantity of salt dissolved in it, it has dealt with the problem.  I've also gone through one family album and have decided to keep the photos as I know all the people and places in them.

 

David

Edited June 22, 2023 by DaveF

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. News just breaking, they have found pieces of the missing sub, including the landing frame and the end cap indicating that the sub imploded. 

[45156]

Evening All

 

This news has been the background of much of this week, and it would appear that it has reached a tragic conclusion - but for me it has, as fellow ERs will recall it has been the time to say an unexpected goodbye to my brother.  He was not a religious man - at least not in his later life - though he married in church, and also was an officer in the Boys Brigade as was I - different companies, and different times.  So he had a humanist celebration - no minister, no hymns, no prayers - it went off well, and about 250 turned up to say goodbye - the chapel was full, and many had to listen on the speakers from outside.  It has to be said that many of them were ex colleagues, and acquaintances from their social  life.  I'd guess that I only knew about 15/20 of the attendees.

 

We hung on to have a chat with my cousin who operates a very successful business servicing floral displays and hanging baskets for a large number of bars, cafes and restaurants in and around Gasgow - and he had a big job on that afternoon as he had just taken delivery of a load of plants, so he went straight back to his polytunnels to get them all watered and out of their original containers - so he couldn't go to the do.  So with us about 20 minutes behind the crowd, we got to the hotel to find that most of the celbrants had gone there too, and the car park was rammed - and all the seats were taken, and many were already on their second drink -having already had the first free one.

 

We only stayed long enough to show our faces, as there were so few people there with whom we had anything other than knowing my brother in common.  Anyway with 180 miles to drive it was easy enough to make an excuse.  So 150 miles to Lancaster on Tuesday, just under 400 miles yesterday, and 150 miles back from Lancaster, makes about 700 miles driven in total - and it was mainly motorway on Wednesday with the cruise control set to a steady 70.

 

Other than that, not a great deal to report.

 

Regards to All

Stewart

[Coombe Barton]

... Today exam boards, tomorrow interviews, Saturday Open Day, Sunday sleeping ...

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2023/06/22/still-no-new-infection-data-today-and-how-experts-are-valued/

[BoD]

3 hours ago, woodenhead said:

News outlets reporting they have found a debris field near the Titanic.

 

The search may be reaching it's conclusion, I cannot imagine how hard it must be for loved ones waiting for news especially where there has been a countdown ticking from 96 hours.

 

 

Tragic - yes.

Feel for the loved ones - yes.

Inevitable result - probably.

 

Incredible and very expensive international rescue effort.

Saturation point news coverage..

 

Meanwhile in the Med……….

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Just had an e-mail from my energy provider saying that my gas and electric (unit) charges are going down from next month, whoopee!

[Ozexpatriate]

5 hours ago, TheQ said:

Back in the days of the King James's ( before they took over England, Ireland, and Wales) one of them set up the equivalent of the east India company, to go and tame the Highland and island  savages. They definitely weren't friends.

The Ulster Plantation (officially 1609) ended up being more durable (but subsequently problematic) than other Scottish colonies - like New Caledonia* (1698).

 

* Not the Department Français in the Pacific (Nouvelle Calédonie) but in the Darién Gap on The Spanish Main.

 

Edited June 22, 2023 by Ozexpatriate

[Ozexpatriate]

5 hours ago, TheQ said:

Big piece on TV this morning about using AI robot voices to commentate on sports matches..

Am reminded of Benjy and Franky Mouse:

Quote

A simple one should suffice. ... Program it to say "What?" and "Where's the tea?" Who'd know the difference?

(Douglas Adams)

[Ozexpatriate]

11 hours ago, TheQ said:

The old highlanders would say the English did the Highland clearances, but in actual fact it was the English speaking Scots from the south and east that were mostly responsible.

Weren't there a number of lowlanders in the "Government" forces at Culloden? (I don't present any expertise here.)

 

I'm thinking particularly of forces under Lt Col John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll - whose "Highland Battalion" included the Campbell of Argyll Militia - who were later used to pursue Jacobites including at Lochaber and Shiramore.

[BoD]

5 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Weren't there a number of lowlanders in the "Government" forces at Culloden?

Highlanders too.

[Ozexpatriate]

37 minutes ago, BoD said:

Saturation point news coverage..

Which will now turn to the lawsuit(s) between the company and a former executive who claimed the design was dangerous, and potentially subject to failure after multiple pressure cycles, without more exhaustive non-destructive "safety" testing.

 

CNN: 2 former OceanGate employees voiced safety concerns years ago about the hull of the now-missing vessel

 

With the company being located in relatively 'nearby' Everett, Washington, we have had extra doses of 'local' news on the submersible news story from Seattle television stations who have many stories on file related to the company.

 

Edited June 22, 2023 by Ozexpatriate

[Ozexpatriate]

6 hours ago, woodenhead said:

ChatGPT is not really AI, it is a very clever guess the next word machine learning

Machine deep learning is definitively part of "AI".

[Ozexpatriate]

43 minutes ago, BoD said:

Meanwhile in the Med……….

Meanwhile off Islas Canarias:

 

CNN: Dozens feared drowned after migrant boat sinks off Spain’s Canary Islands

 

Edited June 22, 2023 by Ozexpatriate

[Ian Abel]

BIN day...

 

Everything put out last evening, once it was somewhat cooler.

 

Bust yesterday and today with work changes, looks like finally the Long Island client may reduce my hours as they are trying to implement some cost savings!

No idea how that'll pan out. 

Whitney with us again from yesterday afternoon, Jemma doing a 4-day trip, Paris and return twice.

 

Weather here continues to provide unhealthy air quality and provide too much heat into the bargain.

20c at BIN time, reaching 32c for the high yesterday AND today, really is miserable with the poor air quality.

 

Onward.

[Hroth]

51 minutes ago, BoD said:

Tragic - yes.

Feel for the loved ones - yes.

Inevitable result - probably.

 

Incredible and very expensive international rescue effort.

Saturation point news coverage..

 

Meanwhile in the Med……….

 

The Med, the Canaries, and the Channel too, though the RNLI is probably keeping the death toll down there by fishing them out of the drink.

 

[woodenhead]

22 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Machine deep learning is definitively part of "AI".

It is but is it intelligent