Recent posts

#1

Off the Record / Re: What does a TRUMP presiden...

Last post by Norgy - Today at 04:30:55 AM

Carney UNINVITED from Big Beautiful Board Of Something as Russia says "Da".

 

A line in the book "Putin's People" still lingers on my mind. It was a comment from a source after telling the story of how Trump got financial backing after his bankruptcy. The money was from someone "no strings attached", but clearly with strings attached, as it supposedly came from the old KGB funds stowed away after 1987 around the world.

"Donald doesn't do due diligence". And that, indeed, seems to be proven again and again.

By the way, "Putin's People" does not pin "asset" to Trump, but does say that the KGB in the 80s certainly thought they had an asset in Trump.

#2

Off the Record / Re: What does a TRUMP presiden...

Last post by Tamas - Today at 04:02:16 AM

The list says a lot about how the US views its place in the world.

It is pathetic.

#3

Off the Record / Re: Brexit and the waning days...

Last post by Tamas - Today at 04:01:03 AM

Yeah they need to do environmental impact assessments.

Worth noting this is the data centre on the Iver landfill site - so while it is in the greenbelt it's very much a brownfield development. There's been a few brownfield developments that have been stymied at the environmental impact asseessment stage because there are some very rare species of spiders that basically thrive in post-industrial landscapes

This is the example Starmer gave of spiders blocking the development of a whole new town which is basically true. A train station was built with a plan for a new town around it and nothing has been built and 15,000 homes blocked (largely on brownfield sites) because it's now the home of a rare spider so a protected site

OMFG.

Yeah because spiders are unheard in gardens and homes. Bloody hell, I need to make sure never to let these environmentalists into my garage or they'll have me empty the place so as not to disturb the thriving spider ecosystem in there.

#4

Off the Record / Re: Brexit and the waning days...

Last post by Richard Hakluyt - Today at 03:29:28 AM

Yes, if you want to understand the English then the LOTR is a key text. Tolkien nailed it better than most sociologists 

#5

Off the Record / Re: Brexit and the waning days...

Last post by The Brain - Today at 03:18:43 AM

Hobbits are set in their ways.

#6

Off the Record / Re: [Canada] Canadian Politics...

Last post by Zoupa - Today at 03:07:24 AM

I'm actually kinda surprised that old battle is sticking point still.  Why even bother bringing it up. 

A real unforced error. Imagine Biden giving a speech at Wounded Knee or Starmer at Waterloo.

Yeah us anglos don't know Quebec very well, but I do think there is French influence baked into the Canadian identity ever so subtlety nonetheless.

I'm sure you mean well, but even this comment is grating. Oh that sprinkle of frogness. It's not supposed to be subtle, it's supposed to be equal. 50-50. And if the PM of Canada doesn't "know Quebec very well", what kind of example is that?

Our public schools could really use more focus on increasing academics at young ages in my opinion.  I know so many people shocked at how kids don't get homework here.  Better / earlier French is one way of doing that.

Sure, why not. I'm kinda shocked how unilingual white anglos are. I play D&D in BC, 8 ppl total. 30-45. Men and women. I'm the only one who speaks more than just english. They all took French in school. They all go to Mexico and stuff. Zero effort. Broaden your horizons, folks.

#7

Off the Record / Re: The AI dooooooom thread

Last post by Zoupa - Today at 02:55:54 AM

Indeed.

But replicating every relevant incremental experiment since 2025 in your field is going to become an overwhelming burden on individual researchers very quickly.

Replicating every relevant incremental experiment since the dawn of time up to 2025 would have been an overwhelming burden as well.

There was little need to replicate an experiment previously. That's the whole point of scientific journal publishing.

I guess you haven't heard of replication crisis, which was a big thing years before AI.  Good thing there was little need to replicate experiments, because it turned out most of the time you couldn't.  Humans were very much capable of bullshitting and willful lack of skepticism on their own, especially when academic career was on the line.

I was unphased. Crap studies and crap papers have always been around. The explosion we're seeing now is orders of magnitude. I'm referring to medical journals, as I'm not familiar with other fields of research.

#8

Off the Record / Re: Brexit and the waning days...

Last post by Richard Hakluyt - Today at 02:55:49 AM

Yeah, the problem is that the UK practices environmental conservatism rather than going for rewilding etc. A new town in the Cambridge/Oxford area would be great for the economy; but it would also be an ecological improvement replacing a modern farm desert with all the complexity of an urban environment including suburban gardens. Similarly, ecological conservatism highly values the sheep-infested environments of Northern England which are totally man-made ecological deserts that require extensive subsidies from government to keep the businesses going. Stop the subsidies and let the land revert, the unemployed farmers can find work helping to build new towns.

Incidentally, if you like the appearance of the Lake District, be careful not to read too much George Monbiot; he has completely changed my view of the place.

#9

Off the Record / Re: What does a TRUMP presiden...

Last post by The Brain - Today at 02:12:31 AM

The list says a lot about how the US views its place in the world.

#10

Off the Record / Re: The AI dooooooom thread

Last post by The Brain - Today at 02:08:48 AM

Peer-review doesn't involve checking if an experiment was actually performed or what the results actually were. The basic quality assurance method of the scientific system is replication.