Svip

> On the night of March 8, 1971, burglars broke into an F.B.I. field office in Media, Pennsylvania, and made off with a cache of top-secret files.

If I recall this story correctly, the burglars left a note on the door that day, saying not to lock it, and apparently the people working there respected that, so when the burglars arrived that night, the door was unlocked.

Technically, new EU members are required to join the Eurozone at some point. Only Denmark (and - before Brexit - the UK) have an explicit opt-out. But Sweden, which does not have an opt-out, have yet to join the Euro as well, and has no plans of doing so. So I'm not sure about the exact rules here.

In Danish, the key is sometimes jokingly referred to as »seværdighedstasten«. »Seværdighed« being a location of interest (and »tasten« key).

It was the Romans who inserted a leap month inside February between the 23rd and 24th. Since the two consuls ruled on alternating months, adding an extra month after February would give one consul one more ruling month, making it somewhat unfair. Since leap years were handled irregularly back then, they were leap months, not leap days.

The Julian calendar introduced the leap day instead, and maintained it in February as originally, and introduced it every 4 years (except years dividable by 100).

This is also around the same time that July and August were named to their current names (named after Caesar and Augustus). Before that, they had had names equal to fifth and sixth month, respectively, like September comes from seventh.

Isn't it also about as likely that the aliens will have an even more convoluted calendar, and may even consider ours simple?

I was saddened recently when I learnt they changed "View image" to "Open image in new tab". I loved the way "View image" worked, allowing you to maintain the image in full view while preserving tab history. If you wanted to open it a new tab, you could middle click it or ctrl click it. But since users were used to the Chrome behaviour they changed it to match, and thus Firefox lost a functionality. Unfortunately, since this is such a niche use case, Mozilla has little incentive to restore it. (Note: Extensions that restore the context menu item fails when the image loading relies on the REFERER header, since it actively re-requests it.)

There are numerous smaller items like this, that just flowed a lot better, particularly if you're heavily browsing images, like tab previews, that have been sacrificed either in the name of performance or to be more like Chrome. Fortunately, SeaMonkey still maintains these classic features, but is unfortunately a memory hog.

My daily browser has also been Firefox since around 2004. SeaMonkey remains a time pocket, when I long for the old days of yore.

I will admit, my testing was limited to the native Samsung web browser and to a capacitor made native app, where the problem occurred. It is very possible that Firefox and Chrome on the phone would behave as expected, but I never tested them, since users were experiencing the problem with the other versions of the app, and I needed to find a solution.

Initially, I thought it was a problem with converting a React app to a native app with capacitor, but I tried the same Android app on a different (non-Samsung) Android phone and it did not have the problem (iOS similarly did not have the problem, both web and native version).

> Using a number input, these things are handled for you.

That's not my experience. I used a number input field for actual numbers (i.e. amounts of currency), but on some phones (specifically Samsung phones), it would show up with a full stop for decimal points (even though the locale was explicitly set to one with commas for decimal points), and users were unable to enter decimal numbers on Samsung phones.

Unfortunately, the handling of the number input field is extremely browser/OS dependent.

Eventually, I decided to go for text input, with numeric for inputmode, and simply interpret both "." and "," as decimal points (not permitting the user to use thousand separators, but few people would do that for input anyway). A bit awkward, but it worked.

Note: Using text and inputmode=numeric did not technically solve the issue of Samsung phones persistently showing the wrong keypad, but the JavaScript interpretation was the real solution to the problem.

No one really does it any more, but "half-pound" (halvt pund) in Danish means 250g, which was the common way of ordering butter before the supermarkets took over (and why butter used[0] to come in packages of 250g). Similarly, in Sweden, one mile is 10 km.

[0] These days, and selling butter in 200g packages to keep the prices seemingly low.

Perhaps the author has not lived in a time, where postal services would have more than one delivery during the day. At its height, postal services in Copenhagen would have up to seven daily deliveries.

My dad recalls in the late 1970s sending a postcard to his then-girlfriend, basically saying 'see you on Thursday'. Text messages replaced these kinds of letters, but the notion text messages dawned a new form of communication is a bit mistaken. It made it more widely available, and over greater distances than before.

Nothing wrong with writing a letter like that (but these days, why would you?), and similarly, nothing wrong with writing an email like that.

> all the Pope Gregory the 13th did was account for leap years by adding in an extra day every few years to keep the year aligned with the astronomical year.

The Julian calendar has leap days every four years. What Pope Gregory the 13th did was remove it from every 100th year (except those divided by 400, hence why 2000 was a leap year). Otherwise the difference between the Gregorian and Julian calendars would be far more than the 12-13 days they are now.

The advantage of the combined suspension and braking meant that the car would adjust its brake pressure based on load. A heavier loaded car would thus brake harder with the same amount of pedal pressure.

The handbrake is still entirely mechanic, and is your emergency brake in case the brakes fail (the same would be the case on a regular car). Fortunately, I've never had that experience yet, and while I've heard the stories, I am still convinced the combined steering, braking and suspension system is a mechanical superior system, even if it requires more maintenance. I'd concede, that from a maintenance's perspective, it's an inferior system. Which is probably why Citroën abandoned it.

The C6 was honestly a bit of a disappointment. Yes, it felt like a last hurrah back to the glory days of Citroën with the DS and the CX, but it still fell short. The C6 only used the hydropneumatic system for suspension. Steering and brakes were replaced with ordinary systems. And while it gave as smooth a ride as any classic hydropneumatic Citroën, it always felt like it didn't quite get there.

But the biggest sin of all, and even Top Gear mentioned this, is the lack of leg room in the backseat. Even my Xantia has better leg room there than the C6. And maintenance wise, it's a nightmare. It's nowhere as rock-solid as the XM or as "simple" as a DS. While it's probably a good investment, considering its few numbers (only 23k were made, I believe), and the fact that it's interesting, it's probably best to mostly keep it in a garage for one or two decades.

I really wanted to be excited about the C6, but it's so much further down my Citroën shopping list than even a Dyane 6 (and I'm mostly into Citroën for the hydropneumatic suspension).

Fortunately, I have a "fixer", who is extremely familiar with these vehicles (it's basically all he does), so he would be able to get me some proper units, and would be well aware if I am being overcharged. Indeed, just looked at his site (that I built for him), he does have a replacement unit for sale for ~800 euro (with VAT).

My understanding is that only 2700 Activa V6 were ever built. I doubt half of those have survived. Now and then, one will appear for sale, and they disappear about as quickly as they appear. I remember rushing across country to pick up mine as soon as it went on sale.

I've recently bought a house with room for a workshop. I've known for a while that the steering on the DS was an issue that needed fixing. Now that I will finally have room to work on it, I look forward to start fixing this among other issues. Including fixing the wiring for the thermostat to the dashboard.

My mechanic also tells me I'm fortunate that my DS is a five speed manual. No semi-automatic gearbox for me. Also makes the engine bay a lot more accessible (although it is injection). So far, I've replaced the headgasket, cylinders, water pump and injection distributor (with one that achieves lower revs in neutral). The engine repairs were substantial, since water had leaked into one of the cylinders, but it was possible, and now it just starts when I turn the key.

My Xantia is the Activa V6 model. That ES9 engine is a beast. I've been told that it's usually the car, not the engine, that breaks first with those ones. But really, what I was more interested in was the Activa suspension. It feels like driving a go-kart, yet with the suspension of a Bentley, and the practicality of a hatchback. I know they were trying the same sort of anti-body roll for the DS back in the 1960s, but money was always running out (unfortunately, I cannot seem to find the pictures, I know they exist online somewhere).

I intend to keep my Xantia around for a long time. Took it to the US once, and drove from coast to coast and back again.

Was your DS 21 pre- or post-1968? Basically, did it have the red or the green fluid? I once drove mine from Denmark to Provence and back again, it was an experience, and not without problems (it started to leak around Paris). I am not sure I would make that big of a trip in it again (although, some part of me hopes I will). Since those days, I've mostly made the big trips in my '98 Xantia.

Even in the 1990s, a Xantia would be a cheap way to buy a luxury suspension. Still amazes me that my '74 DS and my '98 Xantia can use the same hydraulic fluid. Even the pressure spheres are interchangeable, although not advisable.

Speaking of Toronto, I once had the pleasure of being driven around the city in a Méhari.

I've been a big fan of Citroëns for a long time, but I cannot quite get the 2CV. I get it's cute, but I think the Dyane is actually cuter. I can see how it lives up to André Citroën's 1930s vision, but what has always truly captured me is the engineering in the hydropneumatic suspension.

Fortunately, my first car was (and is) a Citroën DS 23. I have not tried Citroën's new suspension (seems to be limited so far to the kind of car, I don't particularly care for), partly because I've grown disgruntled with Citroën since about the time PSA (or whatever they are called now) started the DS brand, but I really ought to.

Citroën sold cars in the US till around 1975, when the US introduced regulations that essentially prohibited the hydropneumatic suspension. Citroën even had US spec versions of the DS and the SM for the US market.

I am not sure whether the 2CV was ever sold in the USA, but it has definitely been imported. I think in the US, the limit is 25 years before you can import a foreign car. I've encountered plenty of 2CVs and Méharis in North America.

Tølløse station in Denmark. Which is for the local train, as tracks 1 and 2 are for the regional trains. I assume the local train track was added later, and was next to track 1, so rather than naming it track 3 or 11 (as they sometimes do to highlight an "in between track"), they went for track 0.

There is a bunch of pictures here[0], and you can spot in some of them where it says "Spor 0". But I assume "track 0" isn't _that_ uncommon after all.

Which leads me to wonder whether a "track -1" exists anywhere.

[0] https://www.danskestationer.dk/htj/toelloese.php

> smaller entities simply can’t be bothered with the paperwork the US demands on accounts for “US Persons”

That only counts for companies with operations in the US. My wife is a US citizen, and my bank - a medium-sized Danish bank - did not care, because they don't operate any business in the US, so they do not need to provide any paperwork for her to US authorities.

There is still a receipt even if you pay cash. It's just that in that case, _only_ the supermarket and the buyer know of the transaction.

Well, if things get worse, he can always introduce the reversing of decimalisation. Bring back the guinea!

> Might this be the only example of four tiers of nested political entities which all have different flag shapes?

Probably not. Rhode Island's flag has a ratio of 29:33.[1] But I guess it's easy to find US states with flags that don't match the US flag's ratio, nor other flags.

[1] https://web.archive.org/web/20160307041423/http://webserver....

As far as I can tell, "meal" (time) and "meal" (flour) have different etymological origins. There was still a difference in spelling in Middle English (mel vs mele), but that distinction was lost in Modern English.[0]

[0] https://www.etymonline.com/word/meal

These are the special editions with updated graphics and voice acting. Although you can always switch back to the original style at any time.

> Matrix is an open source protocol run by a community interest company, Discord is proprietary software which needs to be monetised. There's a big difference between the two.

When I lumped Matrix and Discord together, I was thinking of them as "modern instant messaging systems" (not sure whether this is generation 3 or 4). You are correct, there is a huge difference between the two, and given the choice, I would always chose Matrix over Discord.

On a user level, my resilience towards Matrix and Discord is generally motivated by the same reasons (powerful protocols compared to IRC), but thinking beyond merely that, Discord's proprietary nature makes it a non-starter for me.

What struck me in particular from these numbers is the dislike of IRC versus the dislike of Matrix. Unfortunately, the data doesn't seem to differentiate between the people who use IRC regularly and those who don't for the question of whether they like IRC. The question I'm wondering; is it the people who use Matrix who dislike IRC or is it evenly split between those who use IRC or Matrix? (I have a suspicion, but that would be speculating without evidence.)

Reasonable people will disagree, but I think IRC's lack of features is actually an advantage and not a disadvantage. My opinion is that the Matrix protocol is too powerful. That being said, for a project like GNOME, it's extremely important that one maintains a form of communication that those engaged are willing to use.

I realise I'm an old fart for being extremely hesitant about Matrix and Discord, but fortunately, I am also not in charge of deciding any community's lines of communication.