Seen in the News

[Tizer]

Hot off the press...
`Rival buys all 555 Thomas Cook stores' LINK
`All 555 Thomas Cook stores to be bought by rival Hays Travel in a move that could save up to 2,500 jobs.'

[Stanley]

Yes but they know there will have to be a cull, many high streets in the NE will have two Hays shops in them.

[Tripps]

Every silver lining has a cloud.

They sound like a good well run family company. I doubt they will have millions in debt on their balance sheet.

[Stanley]

That's the key isn't it David. And I'll bet they don't have any higher management on millions a year either!
Many say that this is necessary in order to get the talent. Some bloody talent!! It's an illusion in most cases.

[Tizer]

I hate the way business execs talk about `talent' instead of people, employees, staff etc as if it was just another raw material to be shipped in.

[Tripps]

I had only vaguely heard of Hays Traveluntil the last few days.
I hope they make a go of it all.

[Stanley]

I hate all 'business' speak. Blame McKinsey for it and its spread to almost every 'spokesperson'.
In the army we used to call it bullshit baffling brains.
David, neither had I, mainly a NE operation I'm told.

[plaques]

TV licence.

The House of Commons media Select Committee are suggesting that the move to cancelling the £154 free access to TV viewing should be reviewed. BBC "Behind closed doors" negotiations over licence fee funding - which led to the June 2019 decision to end free licences for many over-75s from next year - were "flawed" on both sides, the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee said. However the BBC are pointing at a survey which indicated that 52% were in favor of abolishing the free scheme.
190,000 people consulted on the change. 52%in favor of reforming or abolishing free licence scheme.
It looks like a rerun of the Brexit referendum but without any lies? or consultations.

[Tripps]

This chap His appointment has raised some eyebrows as he seems to be male, heterosexual, and,would you believe it - a Yorkshire man. A very rare combination for the BBC.

He is also an old Ermystedian (if that's the correct word) I believe there are a couple of others (semi retired) amongst our august membership.

I approve.

[Stanley]

I can't see anything wrong with crumblies getting a free TV licence, god knows we have paid in long enough!
Never heard of the bloke David. I shall listen to him with interest! They sacked Wilfred Pickles from reading the news because of his Yorkshire dialect.....

[Stanley]

At first sight THIS looks like a very encouraging story about the recovery of humpback whale numbers in the Atlantic which, if the information is accurate, has recovered to pre-commercial whaling levels.
The near extinction was largely down to us I'm afraid. The whaling station on South Georgia was run by British companies to fill the demand for fats to feed the margarine and soap industries. (See Charles Wilson's two volume 'History of Unilever' and weep.)

[Tizer]

Watching Sky at Night I heard about the Japanese starting a project to capture space debris using deployment of nets. Perhaps this will help take their interest away from the poor whales!

This is fascinating...
`Plant 'takes' world's first selfie in London Zoo experiment' LINK

[Stanley]

Interesting link. I once saw a houseplant in the office of the economics department at a university in N Carolina that was wired up to a display that indicated electronic signals inside its structure. If you put a lit cigarette near the leaves the display went berserk! That was 40 years ago...

[plaques]

The development of 'mini brains' in the lab. Brain I find this most disturbing. Some of the statements saying it doesn't present an ethical problem sound a bit naive.
Quote: "We have complex language and are capable of abstract reasoning and chimps don't. Work with (mini-brains) won't model those differences because they are not functioning brains," she said.
"But they will help us understand the very important differences early on in development that set the stage for our cognitive abilities.
The mini-brains are relatively simple cellular structures and nowhere near capable of consciousness. But they will become more advanced as research progresses.

At what point do these mini brains become human? This looks like a short cut to human hybrids or cyborgs.

[Stanley]

I wonder as well P. AI is being used more and more by researchers for trawling large databases, that worries me as well. Pointless going into a decline though, it's 'progress' and we won't be able to stop it. Melvyn Bragg 'In Our Time' on H G Wells' 'The Time Machine' yesterday was all about this, well worth seeking out and having a listen.

[Tizer]

At what point do these mini brains become human? This looks like a short cut to human hybrids or cyborgs.

That may be our destiny, Plaques. We will become the man-machine aliens roaming the universe. (But still enjoying a cup of tea while watching Downton Abbey boxed sets!)

[Stanley]

THIS CNN report on how the case against Trump strengthens daily.

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC account of a report that the government should investigate decriminalising the possession of all illegal drugs in a bid to prevent the rising number of related deaths, a group of MPs has said. The health and social care committee said the level of such deaths in the UK had become a public health "emergency". It found the UK's position on drugs was "clearly failing" and called for a "radical new approach" in policy.
In effect this is a failure of public service funding and yet another example of how Brexit plus Austerity has made us take our eyes off the Ball.
See also THIS BBC report on the latest damning evidence emerging in the US about Trump's dealings with Ukraine. The White House response has been to rubbish the evidence from their own ambassador testifying under oath. How long will stonewalling protect this disaster of a President?

[Stanley]

I am watching the sad case of the 39 migrants dying in the refrigerated container.
Is it time for doing what is done on walk in fridges, design in a mechanism for opening from the inside in case of accidental locking in? Such a shocking case....
On another matter, see THIS BBC account of research that seems to prove granny was right when she said cold damp days were bad for her rheumatics.

[Tizer]

This development is fascinating. I look forward to being able to park my car sideways into a roadside gap. However, I foresee a potential disadvantage of having motors in the wheels would be an increase in unsprung weight which would result in poorer road-holding - less grip on corners and bumpy surfaces.
`Wheels of fortune? A new age for electric motors' LINK

[Stanley]

Tiz, over the years I have lost track of the number of times the hoary old problem of reverse parking has been the subject of a 'new invention'. I forecast that this one will go the way of all the others.

[Tizer]

But the parking is a minor aspect - there's much more to it than that. I thought the advantages of the motor-in-wheel concept would appeal to engineers.

[Stanley]

It does in large prime movers like locomotives but is too complicated for small cars. As for independent steering, forget it!

[Marilyn]

Ivan Milat has died in prison. Good Riddance. I hope they withheld all pain relief and that he endured an agonising death from his cancer.
(I don't wish to offend anyone by my personal feelings. The man was a monster.)

[Stanley]

I had to look him up Maz. Now I remember and you are right, he was a nasty piece of work.