Things you always wanted to know the answer to [Vol. 4]
Discussion
Shakermaker said:
Why is the default date in many computers set as 1st Jan 1970?
Computers generally track time in terms of seconds elapsed from a specific time. Unix systems use 1 Jan 1970, and I believe a lot of network servers are based on Unix, so that seem to have become a default. No idea why that date was chosen though.
Cantaloupe said:
I noticed on a trip to the Manchester arena that the locality has a Hasidic [ orthodox ? ] jewish community.
They produce large families ,have nice houses, drive Volvos, yet I believe the men
do nothing all day , they just reading religious books.
I often wondered how they managed to have such a decent lifestyle without resorting to criminality, a lesson to us all .
You often see men in Hasidic garb wandering around Hatton Garden in London, so I guess that they’re jewellers, or diamond merchants.They produce large families ,have nice houses, drive Volvos, yet I believe the men
do nothing all day , they just reading religious books.
I often wondered how they managed to have such a decent lifestyle without resorting to criminality, a lesson to us all .
I don’t know if Manchester has a similar jewellery district, maybe some of the orthodox community commute from Manchester to London, or car pool in one of the ubiquitous Volvos that the Jewish Community seem to love.
There are some very humorous jokes about Jewish widows advertising their deceased husband’s Volvo, and trying to combine it with an obituary notice.
I have a circle of Jewish friends in New York City, and they constantly tell me Jewish jokes, while striving to keep from laughing.
J.A.P. (Jewish American Princesses) ones are the best, you can buy booklets featuring the jokes at U.S. airports and book stores.
RizzoTheRat said:
Interesting, so are modern computer PSU's just able to take 110 or 240v?
I had an 8086 (with Turbo button to take to 10 MHz
) back in the day and it weighed a ton so I just assumed it had a transformer.
Most modern switch mode supplies in general (including PC PSUs) can take any voltage in the range 100-240V and "just work".I had an 8086 (with Turbo button to take to 10 MHz
) back in the day and it weighed a ton so I just assumed it had a transformer.Clockwork Cupcake said:
gazzarose said:
I guess your another AvE viewer then! Tappy tap tap.
Sorry, no idea what you're talking about. I first came across the joke / idea that electronics and wires contain smoke when I was at university 30 years ago.
gazzarose said:
I'm that case your in for a treat especial. https://youtu.be/ruKP1mQA_00 he's got loads of videos and plenty of little 'catch phrases'.
Catchphrases are TIGHT! Clockwork Cupcake said:
gazzarose said:
I guess your another AvE viewer then! Tappy tap tap.
Sorry, no idea what you're talking about. I first came across the joke / idea that electronics and wires contain smoke when I was at university 30 years ago.
We also used to refer to anything hard to get as being made out of Unobtainium. Then the film Avatar came along and wrecked that joke too.
MartG said:
simoid said:
This might have different names in different locales: call it “breaking the seal” when going to the toilet to urinate for the first time during an extended beer tasting session. Ie if you go once, you need to keep going for a leak.
What’s the optimal way to ensure you don’t need to “break the seal” and go for a pish once every pint when drinking a gallon of ale?
Pee as you start drinking?
Not drink liquids for a couple of hours pre drinking?
Have a bit of dry food?
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/urinary-catheters/What’s the optimal way to ensure you don’t need to “break the seal” and go for a pish once every pint when drinking a gallon of ale?
Pee as you start drinking?
Not drink liquids for a couple of hours pre drinking?
Have a bit of dry food?
One visit per pint is good going after that!
oobster said:
I know it would depend on a number of factors, but how far - roughly - would you get from the filling station before the car started to use the 'new' fuel you've just put in the tank?
Many years ago I used to mess about with using 'biofuels' which basically meant pour 3l bottles of cooking oil into the tank of an old Peugeot. Usually this was mixed with at least 1/4 of a tank of diesel. If I went from all diesel to mostly cooking oil it would have a few moments of hesitation when I got to the end of the road, that was only a few hundred metres away. After that it ran brilliantly and started much better than it did before.Obviously this is a terrible idea on modern diesels and could get you into trouble with the tax man. That and cooking oil is now pretty much as expensive as diesel.
Clockwork Cupcake said:
gazzarose said:
I'm that case your in for a treat especial. https://youtu.be/ruKP1mQA_00 he's got loads of videos and plenty of little 'catch phrases'.
Catchphrases are TIGHT! 
Alucidnation said:
Clockwork Cupcake said:
gazzarose said:
I'm that case your in for a treat especial. https://youtu.be/ruKP1mQA_00 he's got loads of videos and plenty of little 'catch phrases'.
Catchphrases are TIGHT! 
MartG said:
Alucidnation said:
Clockwork Cupcake said:
gazzarose said:
I'm that case your in for a treat especial. https://youtu.be/ruKP1mQA_00 he's got loads of videos and plenty of little 'catch phrases'.
Catchphrases are TIGHT! 
21st Century Man said:
Why would you work for the Villian?
In Bond films/action thrillers etc. Watching the Alexa advert and the villian kills three of his top people just by accident, it's not unusual for a villian to kill a their #1 over canapes just to make a point about how deranged he is to the good guy, or to kill say a pilot and other henchman because the hero is being escorted away in the helicopter with a bomb in it. Not to mention the hundreds of staff who get slaughtered defending the villians compound.
How do they get the staff?
The same reason that people work for oil companies, tobacco producers and gambling companies... The pay is good and the benefits make it worthwhile. H.A.R.M. offers 10 extra personal holidays, a 10% location loading, a living away from home allowance and an excellent health care plan, not to mention the usual benefits like shift loading (running a secret underground lair is a 24/7 operation), subsidised canteen and accommodation, gym membership, et al. Supervisors are sympathetic and responsive to workers needs and being an evil organisation, they are often at the forefront of any technological development.In Bond films/action thrillers etc. Watching the Alexa advert and the villian kills three of his top people just by accident, it's not unusual for a villian to kill a their #1 over canapes just to make a point about how deranged he is to the good guy, or to kill say a pilot and other henchman because the hero is being escorted away in the helicopter with a bomb in it. Not to mention the hundreds of staff who get slaughtered defending the villians compound.
How do they get the staff?
Also I think you're being a bit short sighted about the so-called "villain" in this scenario. You've only heard about it from the so-called "good guys" perspective where, they don't show the fully stocked free vending machines, nor Dr Evil at the office Christmas party thanking all the minions and henchmen for another fantastic year. They don't show Frank the technician talking to his 6 yr old daughter on the phone, his job is putting her through ballet lessons, nor Steve the security guard who is saving up for a house deposit and struggling with a long distance marriage. They want to settle down in a nice cottage and Steve is planning to take Clara on a romantic holiday to make up for spending so much time apart.
You only see when the do-gooder so-called "hero" knocks Frank over a railing into a vat of boiling chemicals (Frank was days away from his 5 year anniversary at H.A.R.M. there was a party planned and everything) or when Steve gets booted into the shark tank after they escape from the extremely slow moving dipping mechanism... And whilst we're on that, railings and slow moving mechanisms... They are BIG on health and safety, clearly caring about the well being of their employees.
So in the end we've got a daughter without a father and a wife without a husband... Not to mention now that the good guy has killed the head of the organisation in some ironic fashion, there's going to be a few hundred people out of work with bills to pay, struggling to put food on the table and they're the lucky ones who were fortunate enough to survive a government sanctioned secret massacre... I have to ask... Who is the real villain in this situation? The Media are only showing you the parts that fit their narrative.
Typical BBC bias. Harrumph.
Edited by captain_cynic on Friday 20th December 19:32
captain_cynic said:
The same reason that people work for oil companies, tobacco producers and gambling companies... The pay is good and the benefits make it worthwhile. H.A.R.M. offers 10 extra personal holidays, a 10% location loading, a living away from home allowance and an excellent health care plan, not to mention the usual benefits like shift loading (running a secret underground lair is a 24/7 operation), subsidised canteen and accommodation, gym membership, et al. Supervisors are sympathetic and responsive to workers needs and being an evil organisation, they are often at the forefront of any technological development.
Also I think you're being a bit short sighted about the so-called "villain" in this scenario. You've only heard about it from the so-called "good guys" perspective where, they don't show the fully stocked free vending machines, nor Dr Evil at the office Christmas party thanking all the minions and henchmen for another fantastic year. They don't show Frank the technician talking to his 6 yr old daughter on the phone, his job is putting her through ballet lessons, nor Steve the security guard who is saving up for a house deposit and struggling with a long distance marriage. They want to settle down in a nice cottage and Steve is planning to take Clara on a romantic holiday to make up for spending so much time apart.
You only see when the do-gooder so-called "hero" knocks Frank over a railing into a vat of boiling chemicals (Frank was days away from his 5 year anniversary at H.A.R.M. there was a party planned and everything) or when Steve gets booted into the shark tank after they escape from the extremely slow moving dipping mechanism... And whilst we're on that, railings and slow moving mechanisms... They are BIG on health and safety, clearly caring about the well being of their employees.
So in the end we've got a daughter without a father and a wife without a husband... Not to mention now that the good guy has killed the head of the organisation in some ironic fashion, there's going to be a few hundred people out of work with bills to pay, struggling to put food on the table and they're the lucky ones who were fortunate enough to survive a government sanctioned secret massacre... I have to ask... Who is the real villain in this situation? The Media are only showing you the parts that fit their narrative.
Typical BBC bias. Harrumph.
Basically, the Simpsons episode where Homer goes to work for Hank Scorpio who is the perfect boss apart from being a Bond super-villain. Homer is blissfully unaware of this, even when stood next to Hank torching good guys with a flame thrower. Also I think you're being a bit short sighted about the so-called "villain" in this scenario. You've only heard about it from the so-called "good guys" perspective where, they don't show the fully stocked free vending machines, nor Dr Evil at the office Christmas party thanking all the minions and henchmen for another fantastic year. They don't show Frank the technician talking to his 6 yr old daughter on the phone, his job is putting her through ballet lessons, nor Steve the security guard who is saving up for a house deposit and struggling with a long distance marriage. They want to settle down in a nice cottage and Steve is planning to take Clara on a romantic holiday to make up for spending so much time apart.
You only see when the do-gooder so-called "hero" knocks Frank over a railing into a vat of boiling chemicals (Frank was days away from his 5 year anniversary at H.A.R.M. there was a party planned and everything) or when Steve gets booted into the shark tank after they escape from the extremely slow moving dipping mechanism... And whilst we're on that, railings and slow moving mechanisms... They are BIG on health and safety, clearly caring about the well being of their employees.
So in the end we've got a daughter without a father and a wife without a husband... Not to mention now that the good guy has killed the head of the organisation in some ironic fashion, there's going to be a few hundred people out of work with bills to pay, struggling to put food on the table and they're the lucky ones who were fortunate enough to survive a government sanctioned secret massacre... I have to ask... Who is the real villain in this situation? The Media are only showing you the parts that fit their narrative.
Typical BBC bias. Harrumph.
If you've not seen it, it's well worth looking out for.
Why DOES music inspire an emotional response in us?
https://youtu.be/8Qn_spdM5Zg?t=1m28s
This is the new Star Wards trailer, and there's something in the way they've tweaked the theme tune, slightly slower perhaps, louder, but it triggers something in me. (No, not a full on bawling )
And it's ridiculous as I'm not a big SW fan. ( I've not even watched all of them!
)
Similarly, the music in the ad for the BMW 1 Series https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3jWA_f-bW8
It's a track from a couple years back. (Glue - BICEP ) But the track takes me back to the mid 90s (and the official video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7ZxRs45tTg is on that theme too)
And again it triggers an emotional response in me. Why does the human body react like that? It's not anything tangible like a person. Or anything a person has said or done in real life. It's just a memory.
Is it all just nostalgia? Why does Nostalgia do that then?
https://youtu.be/8Qn_spdM5Zg?t=1m28s
This is the new Star Wards trailer, and there's something in the way they've tweaked the theme tune, slightly slower perhaps, louder, but it triggers something in me. (No, not a full on bawling
) And it's ridiculous as I'm not a big SW fan. ( I've not even watched all of them!
)Similarly, the music in the ad for the BMW 1 Series https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3jWA_f-bW8
It's a track from a couple years back. (Glue - BICEP ) But the track takes me back to the mid 90s (and the official video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7ZxRs45tTg is on that theme too)
And again it triggers an emotional response in me. Why does the human body react like that? It's not anything tangible like a person. Or anything a person has said or done in real life. It's just a memory.
Is it all just nostalgia? Why does Nostalgia do that then?
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