Early Risers.

[Ozexpatriate]

2 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

... “randomly” stopping people coming out of the tube station to ask about residency status

Yes, profiling has a long history in our democracies.

[Ozexpatriate]

2 minutes ago, simontaylor484 said:

Sorry I read that as fecal recognition.

They can do that too if required. It's a good source of DNA. CoViD-19 testing in sewers is now quite widespread.

 

A lot of anthropological archeology is done with coprolites (fossilized poo).

[brianusa]

17 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

before people start clutching their pearls over my spelling of 'colour', the choice was deliberate for an American term.

No problem, its the 'right' way, anyway Mike!

      Brian.

[Ozexpatriate]

7 hours ago, tigerburnie said:

Sounds to me like the humans have lost their fear of indigenous wild animals and maybe they should be moved away from the animals domain more like.

The guy in this video didn't lose his fear. (Lots of NSFW language.)

 

Three years ago a cyclist was killed by a cougar in the Seattle hinterland. It's quite uncommon but it happens.

[Simon G]

Evening all,

Today has been very cold once again.  Despite the sun, the temperature didn’t really rise much above zero.  A walk was walked this afternoon, although I didn’t really feel like it.  My thinking is that if I don’t go out, I will just get even less fit than I feel now.

 

During the walk, we went past the roadworks that have closed the main road through the village for the last 10 days, and they seem to be nearly finished.  The down side is that there are now signs about 400 metres further along saying the road will be closed again starting next Monday for a different reason.  We are hoping that this closure is to sort out the ridiculous number of potholes over a 100 metre stretch of the road, but I suspect that whatever the reason is for the closure, it will only make the road surface worse.

 

Now I am off the find the cricket highlights following England’s excellent win in India.

[leopardml2341]

Goodnight folks.

[laurenceb]

Night awl

[NGT6 1315]

And here I was, thinking „what the hell“ when I looked at the severe frost warning which my weather app alerted me to a few hours ago. It said that night-time low temperatures could approach -30° should there be a clear sky for extended periods. 
 

Keep those radiators running, folks…

[Barry O]

Goodnight all!

 

Baz

[Gwiwer]

4 hours ago, Tony_S said:

I think transportation for criminals ended in the 1860s.

But not before some of Dr. SWMBO's family were compulsorily exported from Chatham to the Colonies.  

 

Their crimes?  "Using exciting language" and "Being of a drunken and disorderly disposition in a public place".

 

They went aboard under one surname and were manifested as "labourers" but arrived Down Under using a totally different name and gave their occupation as "Gentlemen".  The mysterious change of name has never been explained.  It took a good deal of detective work when the family were researching their forebears simply because there was no trace of the "gentlemen" boarding ship in the Old Country meaning their pasts could not readily be traced.  

[polybear]

6 hours ago, leopardml2341 said:

Indeed!

 

My personal take on such things is that if people are doin' nowt wrong they have nowt to fear - a bit like CCTV

I'd happily have a biometric ID card - useful for so many things.

 

So would Bear.  Incidentally, the following is from an email sent to me by Firefox regarding internet security:

Give Facebook (and Instagram) special treatment

Did you know that Facebook can track almost all your web activity and tie it to your Facebook identity, even if you don’t have an account? That’s pretty outrageous. Shadow profiles, aside, staying connected to friends and family shouldn’t come at the cost of your privacy. According to the Pew Research Center, more than half of all Facebook users are uncomfortable with Facebook compiling their personal data. Yes, it’s creepy, and yes you can do something about it.

I wonder how many who object so strongly about biometric ID cards are quite happy to have Facebook accounts?

 

4 hours ago, Ian Abel said:

Defense - Mayor of Tampa "I’m proud to say the majority of individuals that I saw out and about enjoying the festivities associated with the Super Bowl were complying,” she said. “They understood their level of personal responsibility and they were doing the right thing. I’m very proud of that.”

Witnesses - mostly reporters from various media outlets - a significant number/majority of the crowds in the street and bars were not wearing masks, no-one seemed "bothered"!!

 

 

It really is very easy to have absolutely nil sympathy for such bozo's should they contract C-19 in a bad way....

 

4 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

Well that's the weird thing. They dig several holes in advance as you would expect but because they can't rely upon the connection team to a) finish the required number of connections each day and b) turn up we are left with lots of holes - imagine the Somme but with paving slabs rather than mud. The other problem is until they dig the holes they don't know if the pipes need replacing. If they do all work stops while they 'pull/push' a new pipe in. But it is definitely weird about us and the neighbours as they've marked the spots where our holes need to dig but they just don't seem to want to dig them. We suspect it was because we had a funeral at one of the houses so they were asked to make themselves scarce whilst it took place but come on that was only one morning. Could be it put them off their stride and this is revenge. 

 

 

It's all the B.S that goes with such activities that complicates such situations nowadays.  Here's an example:

Thames Water turn up to check next-door's drains (who were in France at the time); Bear gave them access as I'm a key holder.  So van parked outside.  "Caution" signs (or similar) placed at the front & rear of van to warn pedestrians that works were in progress; both signs photographed to prove they were present.  Front door of house photographed, to prove they were there.  All stages of work photographed - here's the manhole, here's the lid removed......here's the lid back on again....

The best bit about the warning signs by the van?  The inspection works were being carried out in the back garden....

 

3 hours ago, Andrew P said:

Yes but Goody Goody Judges stopped Pritie Petel from deporting Criminals, they are now free and roaming OUR Neighbourhoods to do as they please, and probably on OUR Benefits.

 

Sorry Rant over.

 

 

1 hour ago, Ozexpatriate said:

This is certainly the case. There's a reason for that, and over time, it will be addressed. For now it's a good reason not to trust facial recognition software.

 

Personally, I find the rate at which facial recognition software has advanced and the applications to which it is put, is astounding with quite frightening ramifications.

 

Bear suggests that you're not eating or drinking when opening the following link, as there's a very real risk you'll spray it up the wall:

https://www.thesun.co.uk/archives/news/830336/hamza-guilty-but-family-still-get-1-2m-house-and-benefits/

 

[Gwiwer]

6 minutes ago, NGT6 1315 said:

Keep those radiators running, folks…

Oh yes.  Ours is on 24/7 mode and likely to remain so for the foreseeable.  It helps to keep the place at an even, but not excessive, temperature rather than allow it to get cold and then burn more fuel to restore comfort than having the thermostatic control cut in and out as necessary all the time.  

 

And on than note it's a cozily warm goodnight from the Hill of SnowStrawberries. 

[monkeysarefun]

6 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

G'dafternoon all,

 

Sure 'tis - Eddie McGuire resigned yesterday.

[polybear]

1 hour ago, Ozexpatriate said:

This is certainly the case. There's a reason for that, and over time, it will be addressed. For now it's a good reason not to trust facial recognition software.

 

Personally, I find the rate at which facial recognition software has advanced and the applications to which it is put, is astounding with quite frightening ramifications.

 

Though once it's been fine-tuned and working properly then Bear has no issues with it.  Not only will it help catch the baddies, it'll also help prove the innocence of the goodies.

 

The twa, sorry bozo in the house at the bottom of Bear's garden put some cameras up after someone (who didn't have hairy paws) trimmed the tops of his conifer trees (eighty-odd, planted to p1ss us off cos' the neighbours blocked his planning application for a bl00dy great house in the back garden; that little planting plan will backfire soon enough though).  Anyway, one of these cameras pointed directly in to Bear's main bedroom window (aka the railway room).

A call to the local bobbies was in order - they were none too impressed either, nor were the tenants of the property who knew nothing about them until the police knocked on their door and pointed them out (the cameras were fitted when they were out at work) - another camera viewed the back garden, and the tenants have small children....).  Anyway, the police "had words" with the owner, who promptly blamed "his guys" for putting them up incorrectly and promised to get them sorted.  The Police gave me an update and said that " the particular configuration of camera poses no privacy issues".  Bear replied "so they're dummies then?"  Policeman smiles and replies "I didn't tell you that...." 

[jamie92208]

 

5 hours ago, simontaylor484 said:

Northern Gas Networks digging up at top of our street again it is quite a regular occourance. Our estate was built on the former gas works there is still some gas supply apparatus round the other side. There is a radio type tower i dont know if that is gas related or not and there are a couple of large bore pipes coming out of ground then go back under

The gas distribution network is probably centered round the old gas works, just like most big electrical switching centres  are on old piwer station sites. The radio mast wil be for telemetry back to the big mast at Tingley which feds the gas grid control centre on Meadow lane in Leeds. Ask me how I know that.  When I was working in the radio room at Morley in about 1980 we used to get deafened regularly by bursts of what sounded like static on the UHF.  The problem was eventually traced to our transmitter, on a water tower, being almost in line withe the microwave link from Tingley to Meadow Lane. The interference was when control interrogated 300 remote sites every couple of minutes. 

 

Jamie

Edited February 9, 2021 by jamie92208

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, Ozexpatriate said:

 

 

Three years ago a cyclist was killed by a cougar in the Seattle hinterland. It's quite uncommon but it happens.

Until recently Aditi had described her trip in the Himalayas when she was 5 as being quite idyllic, the worst thing she remembers is losing her hat when being carried in a basket crossing a river.  
However recently her mother and uncle have been revealing more. Their party was made up of two families, a cook and porters. They walked about 15 miles a day, though Aditi and her sister were carried in baskets on porters backs. The area was quite dangerous, the group ahead of them had been attacked by a leopard and there was concern about bears too. However the only animal incident was when Aditi was nearly trampled by a cow and her aunt was injured rescuing her. Aditi did ask recently why they had taken to such a dangerous place. Apparently a pilgrimage her Mum wanted to go before they came to England. 

[simontaylor484]

Talking of radio interference many years ago I went to a Christening at the Evangelical Church in Pontefract. The service was done using a PA system every so often the service would be interrupted by transmission.from Slatters taxi office a couple of doors away.

Edited February 9, 2021 by simontaylor484
Autocorrect

[pH]

It would appear that the local squirrels’ mating season has started. At other times of year, it’s unusual to see even two squirrels together. Today, there were groups of six and eight at different times frolicking in the trees and on poles and phone lines across the street from us.

[monkeysarefun]

1 hour ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Three years ago a cyclist was killed by a cougar in the Seattle hinterland. It's quite uncommon but it happens.

Some people don't help themselves but.

 

This trap was put out to try to catch a 4.3m croc that had taken  a 79 year old woman in Nth Queensland.   Baited to attract saltwater crocodiles, so obviously the perfect place for swimming in according to tourists.

 

 

And this is what a 4.3m saltie looks like. Packaged up ready to relocate somewhere further away -  they are a protected species here...

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 9, 2021 by monkeysarefun

[Tony_S]

13 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

  The problem was eventually traced to our transmitter, on a water tower, being almost in line withe the microwavevlink from Tingley to Meadow Lane. The interference was when control interrogated 300 remote sites every couple of minutes. 

 

My brother used to do the emergency call out for radio links used by businesses and police forces in the south of England. He had a variety of security passes which in those days looked like bits of cardboard. He had been restoring communications for police down in Somerset during a snowstorm when he was asked to go to Yorkshire. The northern engineer had become ill and the matrix signs on the M1 were faulty. So off he sets,  gets to the Yorkshire control centre where he is told his “southern” credentials aren’t valid. So he turns round after asking the officers name and said he was going home. Fortunately a more sensible person intervened. 

[PhilJ W]

13 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

Some people don't help themselves but.

 

This trap was put out to try to catch a 4.3m croc that had taken  a 79 year old woman in Nth Queensland.   Baited to attract saltwater crocodiles, so obviously the perfect place for swimming in according to tourists.

 

 

And this is what a 4.3m saltie looks like. Packaged up ready to relocate somewhere further away -  they are a protected species here...

 

 

 

 

 

That shows determination to get a Darwin award.

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Talk of radio communications reminded me of when our model railway club were taking a couple of layouts to our twin town in France. As we were using two vehicles someone came up with a couple of walkie talkies (legal in the UK) so we could keep in touch if we ever got separated. Travelling south from Calais it was decided to check the walkie talkies but after a few minutes chat a lot of angry sounding French came over them. One of our French speaking members told us to switch off and hide the walkie talkies. They just happened to use the same frequency as the police in the area we were passing through. 

[PhilJ W]

Here's something for the covid deniers to ponder. https://www.bionews.org.uk/page_152485

Edited February 9, 2021 by PhilJ W
spill chucker

[simontaylor484]

12 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

That shows determination to get a Darwin award.

Happen they are also covid deniers and anti vaxxers

[tigerburnie]

G'night all