Posts by CABVolunteer

"Who remembers Backus-Naur ?"

I do! Back in the early-1980s, working at the in-house consultancy arm of a multinational, I was on-site doing some tedious task when I was joined by a colleague from our Dutch office. He had even less patience than me, so less than 30 minutes in, he resorted to giving me a formal lecture on Backus-Naur notation for the rest of the morning (and returned to Rotterdam in the afternoon). (When the main Board closed us down the following year, he returned to the University of Leiden. Thank you, Joss - I'll never forget BNF.)

Re: Is this "sports club"

"Once we started farming, dogs needed to either be domesticated or dead."

No, dogs have *always* been domesticated. The definition of a dog is a domesticated wolf.

Otherwise you're right - the attitude of farmers has always been: if it isn't domesticated, then exterminate it.

Re: European Extremely Large Telescope...

It's not just the altitude - locating the devices in Chile is to benefit from the extraordinarily dry Atacama climate. Not only are there few clouds to interrupt viewing, but the absence of water molecules in what little atmosphere is above them allows better performance especially in the infra-red.

PS: There ain't no scientists out there - they're all crouched over their internet-connected terminals back here in Europe when they're not arguing their latest theory at some fancy conference. It's only the poor bloody engineers assembling them and positioning them out there (and, yes, they do need supplementary oxygen).

PPS: These monsters may seem somewhat poor-value-for-money when we have so many homeless, but in comparison with what governments like to spend on things that go bang.........

Re: Why do they think gun licencing should be done on the cheap?

Please don't get upset by the point I'm about to make - think objectively, not subjectively.

A substantial proportion of the population has no interest in firearms and has concerns about people who seem to get pleasure from handling lethal weapons. Would you be surprised that many are suspicious of the psychology of such people, especially those who seem to enjoy killing things "for sport"? Many of us wish to be protected from such people and would expect that the cost of licencing for such a hobby be fully borne by its participants, if not taxed penally.

I'd ask you also to consider the historical trend. Handguns have been banned for a decade or so. Is there much public support for a repeal of the ban? I'd suggest you brace yourself for a complete ban on the private possession of all firearms within a generation or two.

When we were coming down from the trees, having an element of the population which was eager to go out and slaughter the lions was a profitable evolutionary trait. With mass ubanisation and industrialised food production, the individuals with that motivation just aren't valued anymore.....

There'll be little demand for your app.....

"..... buses are free but the Underground isn't."

That's true only for holders of the "bus pass" who live outside London. Residents of London over the age of 60 can apply for a pass (Oyster60+ or the FreedomPass if over the StatePension eligibility threshold) which gives free travel on London buses, London Underground, and most overground trains within the London region (though there are some restrictions on trains eg not before 09:30 Mon-Fri). Merseyside has a similar scheme for its older residents.

Re: Homer's car

With your eyes closed, run your hands over the car, feels great doesn't it?

There's a much more prosaic reason for his design transgressions - according to legend, he was blind.....

Re: Would their govt's migration to Linux

I think it shows a mindset in Munich that's willing to try to do better.

Re: Blue sleeves?

"EDS shaving"

- superb!

[For those who weren't exposed to the early days of the EDS invasion of Europe in the 1980s, Ross Perot had an apparent distrust of men with beards: no facial hair on any EDS employee.]

Re: @Don Jefe: Concrete railroad cross ties

I'm curious why you think that concrete railroad cross ties (or railway 'sleepers' as they're known in the UK) have been a failure? On Britain's railways, steel-reinforced concrete sleepers have been used as replacements for wooden sleepers for decades.

BPT's single ticketing proposal

As I understand Bletchley Park Trust's proposal for "single ticketing", BPT would pocket £15 and the Museum would get £2. But the standard admission charge for the Museum is £5 (£2 just for the Gallery which is all that BPT's single ticketing seems to offer). Would it be a surprise that the Museum would fear a substantial fall in revenue?

Methinks they'll now be spending some of that £8M Lottery funding on a better PR agency......

UK vs EU

And in what respect do you believe that the British government is any better?

Re: How much?

Yeah, what has CERN ever done for us!

Re: JFK @Eddy Ito

"Hell, even JFK would qualify as one in five by that measure."

And look what happened to him......

Re: Remarkable.

I have to fundamentally disagree with you.

Whilst I might find the actions of a despotic regime in a foreign country obnoxious, I have no standing. However, when the actions of the government of the country of which I am a citizen go beyond the limits of civilized behaviour, I have the right, indeed the duty, to protest.

Re: Should be interesting (@jai)

"..... the powers that be are going to notice, and then take some action to fix the system"

Yeah, but what confidence do you have in the powers-that-be that they will apply a fix that will *improve* the patent system?