localzuk

localzuk, 3 hours ago to UKpolitics

Why would the nationalisation of Thames Water end up putting its debt on the public books? If a company goes bust, and the govt buys the remains, surely the investors simply lose their investment and the debt falls to zero?

They want water companies to operate as profit makers, so they should accept when they go bust too.

#UKPol #UKPolitics

Ofwat poised to refuse most suppliers’ requests for big price rises | Water industry | The Guardian
https://amp.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/may/28/water-watchdog-suppliers-price-rises-ofwat-bills-thames-water

localzuk, 11 days ago to UKpolitics

His pledges are the most pathetic I've seen from him yet.

6500 teachers? So enough for 1 teacher per 2 schools. Yeah, that'll solve the recruitment and retention crisis.

40,000 more appointments per week? That's less than 40 per hospital.

Sticking to tough spending rules? Rules that have consistently been shown to not work? Great stuff.

He's not exactly setting out a bold vision, is he?

#UKPol #UKPolitics

Keir Starmer makes pre-election pitch with six pledges
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-69016719.amp

localzuk, 25 days ago to random

Just saw a company advertising their compatible Nespresso pods.

Nothing strange there.

Except their unique selling point is that they aren't made of aluminium, as "aluminium takes 500 years to break down".

Instead? They're made of PLA. So are "compostable". But only industrially. So you can't stick them in your compost bin.

How ridiculous is that?

Aluminium is the perfect material to make pods from as... it can be recycled!

localzuk, 26 days ago to linux

Looking for a way to rip BluRay discs so I can stream the videos via Plex, on Manjaro Linux. Every site on the net points to MakeMKV, except the BETA key for that expired at the end of April, and the site hasn't been updated with a new one... So, anyone got any ideas?

#linux #bluray #makemkv #manjarolinux

localzuk, 29 days ago to random

Recycling batteries isn't actually that easy, though. So many people will continue to be lazy and just bin them.

The onus is currently on people to take the batteries somewhere to recycle. Which means they need to store them until they do.

So, instead of bin lorry fires, we'll have house fires instead. Realistically, councils should start collecting them with kerb-side recycling.

Bin fire in Cornwall after batteries not recycled - BBC News
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-68899020.amp

localzuk, 29 days ago to UKpolitics

The most that's ever been spent on the NHS? Only if you ignore both inflation and population growth.

If they'd simply kept up with inflation, the budget would be £196bn this year.

The £165bn this year is worth £111bn in 2010, a 16% decrease. Record spending? Not even close.

And that's before the population is taken into account! Nearly a 10% increase in population...

#UKPolitics

Chris Philp defends government NHS record after Dan Poulter defects to Labour - BBC News
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-68915259

localzuk, 1 month ago to random

Has russia forgotten that it started a war? So acts against it by the country it invaded are, well, acts of war? Not terrorism?

Ukraine has the legal and moral right to fight back and strike targets in Russia.

Russia demands extradition of Ukraine security chief and others for ‘terrorism’ | Russia | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/31/russia-demands-extradition-of-ukraine-security-chief-and-others-for-terrorism

localzuk, 2 months ago to UKpolitics

What is it about police and disliking accountability?

The reality is that many of these videos of police actions show misbehaviour by police officers.

When you've got many police under investigation, can you really blame the public for wanting to film?

Rowley is missing the point. I'm general, trust in the police is very low. Having a go at the public for commenting or filming is not going to help improve that. It just shows he isn't listening.

#UKPolitics

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/met-police-sir-mark-rowley-online-hatred-violence-officers-palestine-marches-b1144507.html

localzuk, 3 months ago to politics

One of the biggest flaws in modern technology is lack of diversity.

Not racial diversity. No.

I'm talking about class and wealth diversity.

How many working class people are involved in creating AIs? The answer is simple - not many. Simply because that's how our education systems work.

You can follow this lack of diversity back to government. Look at your representatives. Are they from the working class? Do they even understand working class people?

I doubt it.

#Politics #AI #Technology

localzuk, 3 months ago to random

There's a guy in the UK who accidentally threw out a hard disk with bitcoin currently worth a couple hundred million on it a decade ago.

He's tried everything to get it back. It is likely buried at a landfill. And has been for 10 years.

He is still trying to get it back.

Am I the only person who sees the problem here? 10 years in a rotting landfill? That hard disk is dead. Moisture will now be inside the case. The data will be long gone.

Why is he persisting?

localzuk, 3 months ago to UKpolitics

Banning protest around parliament and MPs homes is anti-democratic, fascistic nonsense.

The idea that the very people who specifically should be the target of protests could be allowed to basically insulate themselves against it simply confirms that the UK is not a democracy. The idea that you can limit free speech to "protect democracy" is Orwellian newspeak to say the least.

If you can't take protest? Don't become a politician. Simple as that!

#UKPolitics #UKPol #Parliament

localzuk, 3 months ago to UX

I really wish web app makers would stop adding funky animations and transitions to things. All it does is take an action that should be instant and slows it down to take longer. Yes it looks pretty, but the actual purpose of the web app is slowed down and made worse because of it!

#ux

localzuk, 3 months ago to ai

How are so many people generating photorealistic images with AI? Every time I have tried any of the image generators, the outcome is a hilarious mess. Such as this nightmare from Dall-E.

The prompt? "A fleet of 5 British aircraft carriers in a large NATO taskforce at sea."

Its vaguely taskforce-y, but its hardly what I asked for...

#ai #aiart

localzuk, 3 months ago to random

Travelling on trains always makes me realise that I'm tall. We all stand up to get off the train, and I'm towering over everyone.

Everyone else needs to grow more.

localzuk, 3 months ago to bristol

I lived in Bristol for 1 year from 2011-2012. I travelled through the city this week.

The amount of change that has happened since then is honestly astonishing. The number of new tall buildings that have appeared has fundamentally changed the feel of the city.

I wonder what it'll look like in another 10 years.

#Bristol

localzuk, 4 months ago to random

I think my next phone choice needs to be based on having a replaceable battery.

The phones last fine, but battery life just gets worse and worse.

localzuk, 4 months ago to UKpolitics

Total and utter incompetence from our government.

They've ruined our military.

The Tories need to go, and stay gone for 20 years at least, so the adults can clean up their mess.

#UKPolitics #ToriesOut

Britain has zero active naval supply ships for first time
https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/britain-has-zero-active-naval-supply-ships-for-first-time/

localzuk, 4 months ago to UKpolitics

Moronic squabbling. The reason the Tories will be obliterated is incompetence. Not how far right they are or aren't. The fact they can't understand this is just another nail in their coffin.

They're already an extreme right party as it is.

#UKPolitics

Centrist Tories reject MP’s claim party must shift to the right | Conservatives | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/jan/08/centrist-tories-reject-mps-claim-party-must-shift-to-the-right

localzuk, 4 months ago to retrogaming

Random thought. Lucasfilm Games should really get SCUMM up and running officially on iPads. They're leaving money on the table by not selling their old point and click adventure games on there.

#RetroGaming #Scumm

localzuk, 4 months ago (edited 4 months ago) to random

Why does the BBC give so much airtime to the far right? UKIP, Brexit Party, Reform UK. All seem to get a priority seat on the BBC.

The greens? Barely mentioned.

#UKPolitcs

localzuk, 4 months ago to random

Watching Rebel Moon.

An hour in and my biggest issue with it so far? Character development appears to be delivered entirely through exposition.

The entire point of a movie is to develop the characters and tell a story they'd the movie. Exposition is lazy and boring.

#RebelMoon

localzuk, 5 months ago to random

Being single has an annoying issue when it comes to buying food. Especially at this time of year. I like my Xmas nibbles. But, supermarkets seem to only sell them in packs suited to families. So, I end up living a "nibbles diet" for days because I don't want to eat 10 mini potato skin things, or 12 macaroni cheese bites etc...

Would it be so tough for supermarkets to sell "for 1" packs? A couple of each type of item in there?

#SingleProblems

localzuk, 5 months ago to random

Does anyone else feel that a good number of people don't "get" sci-fi?

Yes, there's fancy future tech in it. Yes, it's often set in weird cities of the future, but those aren't what sci-fi is about.

Sci-fi is about humans. It's about reflecting on human behaviour, values, society, and more. It's as much a social commentary as a Charlotte Brontë book. Just with lasers and space.

And it's why a lot of commercial sci-fi fails. The focus is on tech. Not the story. Not the people.

localzuk, 5 months ago to random

Prepping for a job interview is expensive isn't it? New clothes, haircut, travel costs, etc... Easy £250-300 gone in a blink of an eye. If I get it, that'll be an easy £2000 gone in moving costs too.

And people wonder why people from poorer backgrounds struggle to move up the ladder.

I looked at another job further away. It pays more, but the costs of actually moving would be so high I couldn't afford to do it. It'd end up being £5000-6000 in moving costs due to higher rental costs there.

localzuk, 5 months ago to UKpolitics

If your business can't afford to pay staff what has been shown to be a lower amount than the actual living wage, then your business is not viable.

The fact that many of your retail employees end up claiming benefits to top up their meagre wage means that the taxpayer is subsidising your business.

Retail in the is country needs a wake-up call.

#UKPolitics #UKPol

Currys boss: minimum wage hike shows government does not ‘care’ about retail
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/14/currys-boss-minimum-wage-hike-uk-government-retail-business-rates