StephenNZ

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• Commented on Announcement time!
  Just thinking about if Laundry is not set in the UK, how do you fit in things like the back ops Concorde fleet? To say nothing of the elder god who becomes Prime Minister in the later books in the...
• Commented on A Wonky Experience
  "Shall I compare thee to a freshly washed shirt?"...
• Commented on A Wonky Experience
  Poetry to listen to whilst doing you laundry? (Sorry)....
• Commented on A Wonky Experience
  Note: this is nowhere near "Shag Rock" - in Christchurch (tho' has been locally renamed as "Shag Pile" following the Feb 2011 earthquakes. Refer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapanui_Rock...
• Commented on A Wonky Experience
  Good idea - and maybe they did that (as one government organisation working with another). But I left that organisation in 1980's and have no idea how they solved that problem. Certainly re-processing 'zillions' of punched cards looking for wood...
• Commented on A Wonky Experience
  I am not sure how they solved that problem. I got a different job in mid 1980's and lost track with that organisation's data processing division. But being a government organisation, I am sure they did try and solve it....
• Commented on A Wonky Experience
  And another version: in the late 1970's I was involved on the periphery of a data conversion project using paper based (card) records from a couple of decades earlier. They wanted the information loaded onto "mag tape" as the boxes...
• Commented on A message from our sponsors: New Book coming!
  I assume you are referring to PCB as "polychlorinated biphenyls" and not "Printed Circuit Board" or "Parkistan Cricket Board". Sorry......
• Commented on Same bullshit, new tin
  ICC = "International Cricket Council". I know USA'ians don't play much cricket but no to the extreme of fighting it. I thought I heard/read somewhere that had DRAFT's for other sports like baseball, basketball and (maybe) their version of football....
• Commented on Same bullshit, new tin
  Agreed - and now there are also as many issues with vaping (especially underage vaping) and associated addiction as there used to be with smoking. Not sure what impact(s) vaping will have on long term health vs smoking (if any)...
• Commented on A message from our sponsors: New Book coming!
  Mate of mine purchased a recent "CX-5" and wanted a tow bar fitted. He decided he didn't like the dealer (Mazda agent) price for installing the towbar so got an "aftermarket" one installed. Afterwards, whenever he tried to reverse his...
• Commented on Same bullshit, new tin
  Unfortunately, while I agree with the concept of banning smoking, it appears than a certain Winston Peters apparently made watering down the banning smoking legislation a condition of his party joining the current coalition government. (I understand Winnie is also...
• Commented on Same bullshit, new tin
  Re "FYR when you want to refer to the "novels in which Vimes appears", the simple way is to refer to the row headed "Watch novels" here." An updated version of that chart (version 3.0) can be found here... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Discworld_Reading_Order_Guide_3.0_%28cropped%29.jpg...
• Commented on Same bullshit, new tin
  Reminds me of an occasion in late 1970's where I was one of many software developers working on a medical records system. Said system gave every patient a unique ID number to identify patients no matter which medical facility/hospital they...
• Commented on Crib Sheet: Season of Skulls
  Re "I have not a clue what would be the EU/UK/NZ/AU equivelents to this rather nifty site" - for NZ I think it would be https://www.transpower.co.nz/our-work/industry/our-grid/outage-planning...
• Commented on Do my Laundry
  Sorry. Something a little more on topic: how is the relationship between Baroness Karnstein and Officer Friendly Vampire working out? Any loose ends to be tidied up there?...
• Commented on Do my Laundry
  More on oil burning steam locomotives from a New Zealand/Aotearoa perspective. A number of North Island based mainline locomotives were either build as Oil Burners (NZR Ja class - North Island based - earlier builds were coal burners) or converted...
• Commented on Pass or Fail
  Re "Clarke commented somewhere (perhaps "The Making of 2001"?)" I believe the comment was included in "The Lost Worlds of 2001" written by Clarke & published in 1972. Quite possibly elsewhere as well....
• Commented on Pass or Fail
  I suspect we are getting a little off topic. But no, these trams re are not your ex Philly trolleys. Of the seven trams currently in use in Christchurch, only two are Brill built products. They were ordered from J...
• Commented on Pass or Fail
  Yes definitely trams (and not "light rail"). There are currently seven trams in the fleet with an eighth planned to join the fleet in October. The youngest tram originally went into service in 1934, the oldest in 1903. All are...
• Commented on Pass or Fail
  Its not just motorists and cyclists. I drive one of these - see https://www.christchurchattractions.nz/christchurch-tram/ - and part of the route is through pedestrian'ised areas. While we travel at walking pace through such areas you definitely have to watch out for...
• Commented on Shrinking the world
  One of the things I am finding strange about this discussion of changing car tyres is that I have heard no comments about the need to then balance the wheel/tyre combo after fitting/changing tyres (by spinning the wheel up on...
• Commented on An AI app walks into a writers room
  I have always wondered - what happens if/when the crossroads ceases to be a crossroads? Say, if one of the roads ceases to be a road, or the intersection is moved/realigned? Or they replace the crossroads with a roundabout?...
• Commented on Make Up a Guy
  Ummm - Gillard was an ex-Australian PM, not NZ. Are you thinking of Jacinta Adern - about to be ex PM of NZ?...
• Commented on Make Up a Guy
  I raise you "The Fittest" - J T McIntosh (aka James Macgregor) from 1955. https://www.fantasticfiction.com/m/j-t-mcintosh/fittest.htm...
• Commented on WTF
  Also happens in a lot of volunteer organisations (and especially hobby groups). I see many of the longer standing organisations and groups now starting to fail as the older "boomer" members die off, and there are not the younger members...
• Commented on Decision Fatigue
  In addition to the difficulty of derailing a trolley by "throw the switch half-way", if you do succeed in detailing the trolley, (either as you specified or some other way) one or both of two things will almost certainly happen....
• Commented on Decision Fatigue
  Sorry but your real world answer is based on a false premise and hence incorrect. Trolley (or trams as they are known in many places) - aka street tramways - use spring loaded switches (points) which are engineered to not...
• Commented on Decision Fatigue
  In Aotearoa we had only one VHF channel until 1970's. The actual channel number varied from region to region. I had a school holiday job in mid 1970's working for a TV repair company - my main job was as...
• Commented on Decision Fatigue
  Who defines the "sufficiently informed" criteria, and who tests the voters comply with it - and how often. Does the "sufficiently informed" criteria test then apply to the entire voting population? I see a few issues in the implementation here......