1

Just Chat! / Re: The dumbest aspect of the British political system

« on: Today at 11:29:54 »

GCHQ is by far the most invasive surveillance organisation on the planet.

When I was on the Special Branch watch list (dangerous radical in favor of nuclear disarmament) the nuisance phone calls stopped. Sadly, the task of surveillance has been passed to GCHQ who are much less diligent. I'd happily pay for that service to be reinstated.

Seriously, though, the case of Katharine Gun shows how fragile the power of the establishment is.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6780454/david-kelly-family-doubt-suicide/ shows that "they" occasionally get away with it, as with Hilda Murrell, but whether due to incompetence or actual scruples, such cases are rare.

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Just Chat! / Re: Is there a universal moral standard?

« on: Today at 11:11:40 »

Let's make your substitution.

"An altruist is a person who declares that any action taken for the benefit of others is good, and any action taken for one’s own benefit is evil."

Have you ever heard a sane individual say that? Laying down your life for another may be the ultimate act of altruism, but not eating when you are hungry, or not avoiding a charging elephant (because that would not benefit anyone else) is the inaction of an idiot.

Everyday altruism includes turning up at first aid or water lifesaving classes. And what is the first lesson they teach you? Don't endanger yourself. One hand for the ship, one for yourself. Make sure your car is between the approaching traffic and the casualty. Switch off at the mains.  Wear a mask. And on and on..... 

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Cells, Microbes & Viruses / Re: What are the best links for up to date COVID-19 statistics?

« on: Today at 10:54:32 »

My point exactly - you fill in  your form before getting the jab.

Not sure if a PAPERWOK would be much use anyway. You can boil water in a paper kettle but the poor conductivity of dry paper won't allow you to stir-fry. And sooner or later somebody would call the immunisation certificate a JABBERWOK, thus locating HM government's worldbeating program firmly in the Looking-glass Wonderland its ministers inhabit. 

[Note for US readers - it's a quotation from a text you may know better as Malice in Blunderland]

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COVID-19 / Re: Do we need an international certificate of COVID vaccination?

« on: Today at 10:46:44 »

A brilliant idea. Preferably a bar coded card that can be referenced to source and date of vaccination. Apps are all very well for people who need an electronic life substitute, but my phone just makes calls and texts.

Bus and taxi drivers would do well to check your vax card before letting you in to their fertile public environment, and an annual check on schoolkids might prevent a resurgence.

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Just Chat! / Re: The dumbest aspect of the British political system

« on: Today at 00:22:30 »

There's a considerable difference between a constitutional monarchy, where policy and legislation are determined by a parliament of some sort, and an autocracy where all power resides in one individual.

Whenever public surveys of national happiness or human rights are carried out, the constitutional monarchies of Europe tend to shine in comparison with republics. The fact that the Head of State holds (and has not merely assumed) military rank and simultaneously represents the whole nation imposes a degree of realism on the government. The quaint phrase "la Reine le veult" turns a Bill into law and in principle would not be granted to a Bill that was unreasonably discriminatory against a section of the population.   

The US presidential circus parade is a fine example of what happens when the HoS is elected, particularly in a bogus democracy. Th vituperative nature of the election campaign results in just under 50% of the electorate actually despising him, so he needs deep armoured protection at all times. Constitutional monarchs are only despised by a few nutters, and since the succession is predetermined, it wouldn't change anything if the current monarch was suddenly abducted by aliens, so one or two anti-nutter cops seem to be sufficient security for Their respective Majesties  to drive around Scandinavia, Belgium, Holland, Spain and the UK, and to sit in an open box at Wimbledon or Wembley.

Unfortunately it's probably unacceptable for a modern republic to revert to a monarchy. Historically you got to be king by killing everyone who disagreed, and stealing their land. Such behavior would be intolerable nowadays, and there is no other route to royalty. 

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Physiology & Medicine / Re: How do you test a covid test?

« on: Yesterday at 17:48:56 »

Imagine that he had chosen to do that with some of his other absurd claims- like the one where he says that the conservation of angular momentum doesn't work.

which is why I haven't.

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Just Chat! / Re: Is there a universal moral standard?

« on: Yesterday at 16:08:34 »

Altruism declares that any action taken for the benefit of others is good, and any action taken for one’s own benefit is evil. Thus the beneficiary of an action is the only criterion of moral value . . . .

Wrong from the start. Altruism is an abstract noun that cannot "declare" anything. We ascribe good work with no apparent return to the doer, as altruistic.

It is not in the gift of philosophers to misuse the English language - or any other.

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Physiology & Medicine / Re: How do you test a covid test?

« on: Yesterday at 16:00:01 »

I mistakenly duplicated part of a posting. BC pointed out that I had repeated myself, so I deleted the repetition and his note, which now made no sense.

Part of the folklore at the Civil Service College was the chap who was sent a file in error. He read it, initialed it, and passed it on. A few days later it returned to his desk with the note "This was not intended for you. Please delete your initials and initial the deletion."

Being perfect in every way, I have no need for vanity.

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COVID-19 / Re: If you have a positive test, are you contagious?

« on: Yesterday at 15:54:28 »

Depends on the test. If it is for virus, then you certainly are infectious. If for antibodies, you might not be.

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New Theories / Re: How close are we from building a virtual universe?

« on: Yesterday at 12:30:24 »

The problem throughout is that you are trying to define the solution without defining the problem. My artificial horizon is an adequate virtual universe if the problem is to keep the plane flying straight and level with no visual reference. The GPS moving map adds just enough data if I want to get somewhere, and the ILS gives me a virtual beeline to the runway threshold. Each of these solutions began with a clear statement of the problem.

The joy of full autopilot was demonstrated by a couple of 737 fatal incidents in recent memory. It's OK until it goes wrong and crashes you precisely on the runway centerline, unlike the human who is generally "good enough" to land somewhere (like the middle of the Hudson river) without breaking too much. I've just completed a paper exercise where the radio died in fog at night. The automatic answer is to follow a published instrument approach on enhanced GPS and autopilot, which will take you to your destination within +/- a couple of feet. Problem is that you don't know who else is on that track, so the more closely you follow it, the more likely you are to collide or cause panic. The human  answer is to assume that everyone else is on track and avoid it by a mile laterally and 1000 ft vertically until the last possible moment.

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Physiology & Medicine / Re: If sugar is more addictive than Heroin can we use Glucose injection as treatment

« on: Yesterday at 11:01:05 »

The simple answer to the question is "no".

The complicated answer requires a deeper examination of the problem.

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Just Chat! / Re: Can people get into British ivy-league universities by nepotism?

« on: Yesterday at 10:52:58 »

Knowing that Trinity ranks second only to the United States of America in numbers of Nobel prizewinners,

Good selection of spies too.

and

And a few paedophile and sexual deviants.

Face it, Trinity  men all obey Ecclesiates 9:10 "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might". And coming second to the USA in these categories is no disgrace among connoisseurs of the genres.

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Physiology & Medicine / Re: How do you test a covid test?

« on: Yesterday at 10:44:34 »

What do you think about Robert F Kennedy jr and his claims?

How about "ignorant parasite?"  That puts him one evolutionary level below malaria, and just as dangerous.

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Just Chat! / Re: The dumbest aspect of the British political system

« on: 22/11/2020 23:31:06 »

The fact that we have Boris as a dictator even though he got much less than half the votes is a far dumber.

The drift towards presidential government here really began with Thatcher, but at least she and Tony B Liar were personally in charge.

Recent events in Downing Street show that an unelected woman with her hands on the PM's balls has more influence than an unelected man with his hand up the PM's arse.  With a Cabinet of Vegetables and an Opposition devoted to destroying itself, it would be interesting to know Carrie Symonds' legislative program. Perhaps she will grant us an audience in the garden.

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Just Chat! / Re: Can people get into British ivy-league universities by nepotism?

« on: 22/11/2020 23:06:20 »

lots of great candidates will apply to come here on the (frankly spurious but...) grounds that the Heir Apparent studied here.

Knowing that Trinity ranks second only to the United States of America in numbers of Nobel prizewinners, I think anyone, other than Prince Charles, applying for membership of the college would be hoping to emulate almost any of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_alumni_of_Trinity_College,_Cambridge,  rather than inherit the Throne of England.

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Just Chat! / Re: Can people get into British ivy-league universities by nepotism?

« on: 22/11/2020 20:02:07 »

; I guess he did a very good interview.

That is, after all, part of his inevitable job. Faced with the choice of educating the future king or telling him to join the queue at the labour exchange, what would you (as Master of Trinity) do? The class of HRH's degree comes as a surprise - it wasn't publicised at the time.

Pre-O andA levels, we had School Certificate and Matriculation exams which my parents took, so I guess yours did too. Fortunately personal recommendation did play a part in the 1930s: my college library includes a letter from his commanding officer suggesting that a certain young engineer might usefully spend some time in the Fens, where he developed the jet engine from an essay he had written for the RAF officer selection board.   

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Physiology & Medicine / Re: If sugar is more addictive than Heroin can we use Glucose injection as treatment

« on: 22/11/2020 19:47:12 »

I thought I had put enough effort into explaining that the amount by which people "overeat" is of the order of a few grams per day.

And I have been explaining that the obesity epidemic coincides with people eating 100 - 500 kcal/day less than they did even 50 years ago.

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COVID-19 / Re: If you've tested negative, should you need to quantine?

« on: 22/11/2020 12:51:44 »

PCR is a gold standard laboratory test, but the "field" results are strongly dependent on operator skill. The safest assumption  is that the passengers on your plane are representative of the population they are drawn from. UK-wide, that's 1 known infection in 60; US-wide, 1 in 30. You can probably double the incidence for health workers.

So if there are say 30 people on your company plane, regardless of their pre-flight test status there is at least a 50% probability that one will be infectious. This is not a good risk for the receiving nation which presumably has even fewer facilities for isolated treatment than your home country.

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Physiology & Medicine / Re: If sugar is more addictive than Heroin can we use Glucose injection as treatment

« on: 22/11/2020 12:38:29 »

Horror! Under-12s doing sedentary jobs? Female office and garment workers sitting down? Whatever next? If the obesity epidemic only affected 40-year-old men who now dig coal by computer, or nurses who sit next to their patients all day, you might have a point. Ah, I see, the problem is replacing the old bakelite handset and moving dial with lightweight phones and touch screens - no biceps required. Maybe we can bring back the "portable brick" phone.

If you weigh 75 kg and climb a 3m staircase you do 75 x 3 x 9.81 / 4200 = 0.53 kcal of useful work, less than 0.1 slice of bread or 0.15 gram of rice. So exercise isn't going to make you thin unless you are a professional athlete who spends his working day in the gym, and lack of it won't change things much either. And as every survey has shown, the average UK citizen now consumes fewer calories  than 100 or even 50 years ago. So we need an explanation of recent epidemic fatness that doesn't involve diet or exercise.

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Just Chat! / Re: The dumbest aspect of the British political system

« on: 22/11/2020 09:05:35 »

the queen still influences political decisions and policies.

Unlike elected presidencies, parliament has the first and last word. The monarch can advise, with the benefit of a thousand years of hindsight and no stake in the outcome, but cannot demand or veto. Most importantly, she can't appoint or sack officials outside of her own household.

Any time a member of the royal family makes a political statement, they get a bashing from all sides of the press. They are significant landowners and can invest capital in demonstrative projects, but, unlike bankers, newspaper proprietors, in-laws, blackmailers, foreign presidents  and old school chums,  can't tell the government what to do with public money and property.

Unlike the PUS in the White House or the scum in the Kremlin, the Queen doesn't command or even encourage a ragtag army of knuckledragging racists to oppose the democratic process. 

You don't get to be the monarch by spending Daddy's money on razzmatazz and libel, nor by being a draft-dodging coward and liar. As nominal Commander in Chief of the British forces and representative of all the people, you actually have to serve in uniform and be polite to everyone.

And unlike the hyperpatriotic sheep in the transatlantic banana republic, Brits enjoy laughing at themselves and the pathetic whimsies that stood up to fascism, abolished slavery, and invented practically everything from vaccines and railways to the world wide web.

The Head of State doesn't need armed motorcades precisely because it isn't a political office.