@TimWardCam@c.im
@TimWardCam@c.im avatar

TimWardCam

@TimWardCam@c.im

Cambridge Liberal Democrat. Techie. One time pilot.

Profile picture: street furniture - I take pictures of interesting street furniture when travelling. In this context it is appropriate for the street lighting columns to be gold plated.

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smach, to random
@smach@masto.machlis.com avatar

What happens when you mandate masks at a conference now that most people no longer wear them but medically vulnerable people are still at risk because ? In the case of , the conference sells out.

Why a masking policy? โ€œMany of us and our fellow community members canโ€™t attend without health and safety guidelines in place. We want PyCon US to be an event that everyone feels safe attending,โ€ organizers explained.

Well done @pycon https://fosstodon.org/@pycon/112445571644276379

TimWardCam,
@TimWardCam@c.im avatar

@smach @pycon Trouble is ... people have to get there somehow. And the US is a big place. And I have yet to hear of any airline offering a believable guarantee of a zero covid journey (including airports and transfers).

ChrisMayLA6, to scifi
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar

This week I've been mainly reading, no. 153.

Each of Emma Newman's Planetfall quartet explores a different aspect of the same overarching story of religious driven intergalactic migration. In Atlas Alone (2019), the fourth story centres on an elite gamer & their attempt to uncover & then take revenge for a crime against humanity. To say much more would ruin the plot for you, but as with the others, this is great, fascinating sci-fi, which has a great payoff at the end.


@bookstodon

TimWardCam,
@TimWardCam@c.im avatar

@ChrisMayLA6 @bookstodon I'm always puzzled by galactic scale SF which as religion as a thing. Surely, one might expect, by the time any civilisation has reached galactic scale it will long since have left religion behind it?

TimWardCam,
@TimWardCam@c.im avatar

@fskornia @ChrisMayLA6 @bookstodon Maybe I should have said "hope" rather than "expect" ... ๐Ÿคฃ

TimWardCam,
@TimWardCam@c.im avatar

@Thebratdragon @ChrisMayLA6 @bookstodon No, not seen those.

JugglingWithEggs, to random
@JugglingWithEggs@mstdn.social avatar

Spotted my MP in the local Co Op this eveningโ€ฆhe was wearing his cycling gear and waterproof jacket. Tbh, Iโ€™ve never seen him in Norwich without his bike or clothing evidence that itโ€™s near by!

He was buying some beer (both regular and alcohol free) and cat treats.

All very reassuring.

When was the last time you saw your MP in their constituency and did they do anything that led you to think โ€˜this person represents my view of the worldโ€™?

TimWardCam,
@TimWardCam@c.im avatar

@JugglingWithEggs I think the last time I had a chat with my MP was at an anti- demo in Westminster. (I have also met him a number of times in the constituency.) is one of those issues where he says in private that he agrees with me, but as the Labour party line is to be he doesn't actually do anything about it.

GottaLaff, to Arkansas
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

Via Democracy Docket:

BREAKING: Supreme Court reinstates four voter suppression laws ahead of the 2024 elections, reversing a lower court's ruling that the laws violated the state constitution.

The laws ban passing out food and water to voters waiting in line at the polls, establish signature matching rules, shorten the absentee ballot return period and implement strict photo ID procedures for voting. https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/arkansas-supreme-court-reinstates-four-voter-suppression-laws/

TimWardCam,
@TimWardCam@c.im avatar

@GottaLaff Handing out refreshments to someone waiting in the queue would I expect be illegal "treating" in the UK if done by supporters of one of the candidates.

But ... there can only be queues that are long enough for the question to arise if the organisation of the poll is totally fucked up. There should, in a rich mature democracy, be sufficient polling station provision and staffing that nobody ever has to wait more than a couple of minutes.

stephaniewalter, to random
@stephaniewalter@front-end.social avatar

Anyone working in for an airline or an airport? Or just, air travel enthusiasts?
The Air Travel Design Guide is a guidebook the design of artifacts, spaces, and systems that impact the passenger experience of air travel. Each item has design decisions, effects on passengers and what ifs content. I love the level of design geekiness in here!

Resource: https://airtraveldesign.guide/Guide

TimWardCam,
@TimWardCam@c.im avatar

@stephaniewalter Does it explain how to design a zero covid exposure travel experience?

jon, to random
@jon@gruene.social avatar

โ€œWhen I see people say Eurostar is shrinking it drives me crazy, because itโ€™s really not true,โ€ says CEO Cazenave to the FT

https://www.ft.com/content/97f7a39b-0536-40e2-bbdd-e1d755418804

Yeah, because you merged with Thalys - so, surprise surprise, you transported more people

Passenger numbers London - Paris/Bruxelles are still down on the last pre-pandemic year, not least because Eurostar now no longer serves Ebbsfleet and Ashford

TimWardCam,
@TimWardCam@c.im avatar

@jon One reason for passengers being down on the last pre-pandemic year is ... surprise surprise ... the pandemic. I'm not riding one of their trains again - or any other public transport - until they offer a plausible guarantee of zero covid exposure on the journey.

Geri, to random
@Geri@mastodon.online avatar

A few weeks ago, there was a fair number of vacancies here.

Now, there are none

Stuart Skeates, the director general for strategic operations at Illegal Migration Operations Command (IMOC), wrote to colleagues on Tuesday to say his department had been told to cut the numbers of staff to โ€œpre-pandemic levels'

Flagship policy

Stop the boats

Etc

https://www.homeofficejobs-sscl.co.uk/imoc-vacancies.html

TimWardCam,
@TimWardCam@c.im avatar

@Geri It would only take ONE PERSON to stop the boats. Sitting at a desk in the ferry terminal at Calais handing out tickets.

That would be absolutely guaranteed to "stop the boats" stone cold dead instantly - the smugglers' business model can't compete with free.

jon, to random
@jon@gruene.social avatar

The reason we donโ€™t have a โ€œSkyscanner for railโ€ is mostly NOT for technical reasons

Itโ€™s because rail firms donโ€™t want to share data with each other

Example: Trenitalia doesnโ€™t want to sell SNCFโ€™s Milano-Paris tickets because it doesnโ€™t want to, not because it canโ€™t

UICโ€™s Open Sales and Distribution Model (OSDM) is a technical standard. At the margin helpful but rail firms can and almost certainly will still refuse to share data with each other

TimWardCam,
@TimWardCam@c.im avatar

@jon Companies selling each other's tickets ...

I once tried to buy a train ticket in Milan station. It turned out that there were several banks of ticket machines, for different companies.

There was no way to buy a ticket to X without first knowing which company ran the train so that I could go to the right machine. How the fuck is anyone except a regular user supposed to know that ??**?!! - and a regular user won't need the machines, they'll have a season ticket.

NormanDunbar, to random
@NormanDunbar@mastodon.scot avatar

Ever tried to bump start a boat?

TimWardCam,
@TimWardCam@c.im avatar

@NormanDunbar I've seen someone jump start an aeroplane. So we wandered to the other end of the airstrip and booked our joyride with a different operator.

IAmDannyBoling, to random
@IAmDannyBoling@mstdn.social avatar

This is how healthcare works in the US and it'll never get better until capitalism is dead. ๐Ÿ˜ก

"According to the Sheriffโ€™s office, a 68-year-old homeless man with terminal cancer chose to get arrested to get healthcare.

"'He re-committed a crime to get put back in the facility so he could receive treatment,' Owens said."

https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/cobb-county/cobb-sheriff-says-homeless-terminally-ill-man-arrested-purpose-healthcare-hes-not-alone/FJXPDVWXPFEMJDGTJIECAN74MY/
WSB Atlanta: Cobb Sheriff says homeless terminally ill man arrested on purpose for healthcare, heโ€™s not alone

TimWardCam,
@TimWardCam@c.im avatar

@IAmDannyBoling Many many years ago in Bristol a tramp (who would these days be called "street homeless") would wander around to the police station each year when the weather got cold and break a window. To get indoors in the warm for the winter. "You again - would you like your usual four months?" would say the magistrate, according to the local paper.

FluentInFinance, to random
@FluentInFinance@mastodon.social avatar

My credit score dropped when I paid off my car.

My credit score dropped when I paid off my student loans.

The system punishes you for not owing any money.

They told me: "You should get more loans to increase your credit score."

The system is predatory and wants you to be in debt.

Credit scores are one of the biggest scams.

TimWardCam,
@TimWardCam@c.im avatar

@FluentInFinance Why do you care what your credit score is if you have little or no need to borrow money?

tony, to random
@tony@hoyle.me.uk avatar

The latest bit of chineseum to cross my path.

Those familiar with the UK plug will see the problem..

TimWardCam,
@TimWardCam@c.im avatar

@tony Can't possibly be legal in the UK even if it fits the socket. The rest of the world don't care too much about earthing and polarity do they?

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

What cracks me up is when you go to a restaurant, and they ask if you've been there before, and then they say, "Well, we do things a little different here", and then it's exactly like every other restaurant, but more expensive.

TimWardCam,
@TimWardCam@c.im avatar

@RickiTarr A restaurant that asks if you've been there before is giving away its lack of class.

"We haven't seen you for a while," on my second visit several decades after the first, is the classy way to do it. Know your customers.

stooovie, (edited ) to climate
@stooovie@mas.to avatar

Reminder: it's very much possible that the Dry mode on your may be enough to cool down the place, while drawing just a fraction of electricity.

It's the humidity that creates the feeling of heat.

Our Daikin split draws just about 1/5 of power and in the summer sucks 20 LITERS of water a day in a 770 sqft (72m2) apartment

TimWardCam,
@TimWardCam@c.im avatar

@stooovie We've known for millennia how to design buildings that don't need mechanical air conditioning. When did we forget?

revk, to random
@revk@toot.me.uk avatar

I sometimes forget the easter eggs I have on domains.

Like https://windows.me.uk

LOLOLOL

TimWardCam,
@TimWardCam@c.im avatar

@revk Hey, I discovered that effect for playing darts! For me it worked during the third pint - before I'd finished the second I was rubbish and after I'd finished the third I was rubbish but whilst I was drinking the third I kept winning!

(Though ... rather than a positive effect for me it might, I suppose, have been a negative effect for my mates, who were, of course, drinking pint for pint ...)

simon_brooke, to random
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

Last night, I was thinking that Kuenssberg wasn't really a journalist, she was more a groupie; this morning, The Bunker is talking about politics as fandoms. I think this says a lot about modern political discourse in the UK.

There is little serious interest in, or analysis of, policy; the focus is on who is briefing against who, sleeping with who, plotting against who, winning arcane popularity contests.

This is essentially unserious.

https://pod.link/1496246490/episode/1974664bc579725097d9cb038c45092d

TimWardCam,
@TimWardCam@c.im avatar

@simon_brooke Yeah, and also the bit about journos trying to invent leadership challenges all the time even when there isn't one (as there usually isn't).

It's because lazy journos can just about get their heads around who's shagging who or who's knifing who in the back, but actually talking about policy is difficult:

  • first the journo has to work hard to understand it

  • and then the journo has to work hard to explain it.

Ain't gonna happen these days, I'm afraid. Not with so few people having an attention span longer than that of a hyperactive goldfish.

peter, to random
@peter@area51.social avatar

They should be sanitising their database inputs rather than change the input data!

"A local authority has announced it will ban apostrophes on street signs to avoid problems with computer systems."

North Yorkshire Council to phase out apostrophe use on street signs - BBC News
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-68942321

TimWardCam,
@TimWardCam@c.im avatar

@peter I did the opposite in Cambridge a few years ago.

There was a local campaign (this is Cambridge, after all) to get street names properly punctuated. Conventional wisdom was that the punctuation was omitted at the request of the emergency services, but we checked with them again and they said that they didn't care any more.

The local rag joined in, with a series of pictures of wrong and/or inconsistent street name signs. But they missed one I knew about, where the street had three different signs at various places, along the lines of (this wasn't the actual name) "Pirates Walk", "Pirate's Walk" and "Pirates' Walk". So I was able to tease them that the situation was worse than they'd discovered! - it's always useful for councillors to keep up good relations with the local journos.

I changed the policy to allow punctuation. (OK, to be honest, after being lent on somewhat by the council leader, who thought it was more of a big deal than I did - left to myself I might not have bothered to do this as an emergency decision and I might have left it until the next review.)

weilawei, to random
@weilawei@mastodon.online avatar

Whatever algorithm Steam is using to validate downloaded game content is terrible.

It's going at ~0.5 MB/s. I don't know what algorithm they're using, but that performance is garbage.

This machine bottlenecks on the drive at ~6 GB/s, RAM at ~18 GB/s, and a CPU core at 126 GB/s (if you're making use of all the AVX2 ports).

The same thing applies to when Steam launches. I get a full 5 minutes of cursor stuttering and the system is unusable.

TimWardCam,
@TimWardCam@c.im avatar

@weilawei @VikingChieftain Too right.

Once Upon A Time I used to hire people to write Visual Basic. After a couple of mistakes I decided not to hire anyone who didn't have some assembler experience. I didn't ask for much - a couple of weeks' introduction at university would do fine - but I needed them to have some understanding of what a computer is.

VB isn't the only language (hello C++? - as well as the SQL this thread is about) in which you can write two apparently similar lines of code whose performance differs by a factor of many orders of magnitude.

Someone who doesn't know what a computer is won't even understand the problem, let alone instinctively avoid it.

TimWardCam,
@TimWardCam@c.im avatar

@osma @VikingChieftain @weilawei Yes. You need to understand the lower layers, or at least be aware of their existence!, or you don't know what you're doing.

TimWardCam,
@TimWardCam@c.im avatar

@osma @VikingChieftain @weilawei Well, within limits. I was taught that at the hardware level no logic gate behaves in a completely deterministic way because of quantum. But mostly we get away with ignoring that (though I gather that it's more of an issue for space-going systems which are more vulnerable to cosmic rays).

paninid, to random
@paninid@mastodon.world avatar

The death of expertise

TimWardCam,
@TimWardCam@c.im avatar

@ramsey @paninid The only consumer grade simulator that I've found at all useful for developing pilot skills is RANT. I used it to practice each IR(R) lesson before flying it and I reckoned it saved me hundreds of pounds. Toys like MS Flight Simulator? - not so much. https://www.oddsoft.co.uk/home.html

ashleygjovik, to random
@ashleygjovik@mastodon.social avatar

The United States has invaded the United States in order to bring freedom and democracy to the United States.

TimWardCam,
@TimWardCam@c.im avatar

@ashleygjovik "They've got to be protected / all their rights respected / 'till somebody we like can be elected"

I wonder what he thinks of this policy now being applied within the US? - I guess someone could always ask him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHhZF66C1Dc

TimWardCam,
@TimWardCam@c.im avatar

@ashleygjovik Try his other stuff. If you don't mind things that really aren't politically correct. https://tomlehrersongs.com/

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