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Wildgoose

1,352 karma · joined January 7, 2011

English computer programmer and father of three. Go player, Music lover, Still learning.
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Wildgoose··on The Bayeux Tapestry: Woven by the Victors
It was woven by English embroiderers, so it was woven by the victims of the Norman Conquest.
Wildgoose··on Iran school bombing: grounds to believe US was behind atrocity, UN finds
Seeing as it was a "double tap" it was clearly a deliberate target. Bomb the school, wait until officers from the nearby base with kids at the school arrive to try and rescue their daughters and hit it again. Clearly a war crime, possibly using Israeli targeting information, which clouds which State is ultimately responsible.
Wildgoose··on Over 150k Flights: Airlines Just Flew the Busiest Day in Recorded History
This seems like madness to me. A fully loaded 747 has around 140,000 litres of energy-dense jet fuel containing between 2.2 and 2.9 GWh worth of energy - or around two hours output of a typical power station.

This level of profligacy is simply not sustainable.

Wildgoose··on The Writers Who Wrote the Most in History
Came here to say exactly this. He wrote under so many pseudonyms he appeared to be an entire team of writers on his own.
Wildgoose··on If AI replaces workers, should it also pay taxes?
The current minimum EPC rating is D. The legislation to raise it to C hasn't been dropped, they just haven't decided exactly what date it will take place. And it's stupid legislation because many old properties cannot be sensibly raised from D to C, and these are the properties (e.g. terraced housing) which are typically rented out. So, we have a housing crisis with too few properties available to rent and the legislation will force landlords to take rental property off the market. Madness.
Wildgoose··on Britain's railway privatization was an abject failure
I remember that the UK was forced to privatise Rail in the way that it did because of EU competition rules. I was commuting by Rail at the time and the manner in which it was privatised was considered to be barmy by both myself and fellow passengers.
Wildgoose··on Epson MX-80 Fonts
Likewise. I used to possess a hand-written letter from Sophie Wilson (of Acorn/ARM fame) replying to my own hand-written query letter at around 1981 when I was 16 and learning to program my Acorn Atom.
Wildgoose··on 1976 Soviet edition of 'The Hobbit' (2015)
It really is worth reading. And I say that as a die-hard Tolkien fan. Genuinely highly recommended.
Wildgoose··on A brief history of the absurdities of the Soviet Union
I know both usages, and as an Englishman I am a native English speaker. However, I would agree that the most common usage would be the non-Red opponents of the communistic takeover of Russia in the early 1920s. Isn't the cocktail named as a direct reference to these people?
Wildgoose··on JANET – The UK Joint Academic Network (1988) [pdf]
Wow! Blast from the past! (University of Hull, around 1987).
Wildgoose··on Half the human beings alive today are descended from the Yamnaya: new research
All the base structure and common words are Germanic/Scandinavian. Yes, "fancier" vocabulary and constructed words like television or telephone are Latin/Greek derived. You could restrict English to its Germanic roots and still make (stilted) conversation. You could not do the same using only its added French/Latin/Greek vocabulary.
Wildgoose··on Man's brain turned to glass by hot Vesuvius ash cloud
A.E. Van Vogt wrote it. Brilliant author. I am sure one of the tales in "The Voyage of the Space Beagle" was the inspiration for "Alien".
Wildgoose··on A Short History of English Waymarks (2015)
Fascinating. I was hoping to see the "zero mile" marker in Alfreton and it was present. The fingerpost in Brownhills (in the West Midlands) is worth knowing as well:

https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/wiki/index.php?title=The_Fing...

Wildgoose··on Trump says he has directed Treasury to stop minting new pennies
to-do-list presumably.
Wildgoose··on Microsoft deletes official Windows 11 CPU/TPM bypass for unsupported PCs
My (unsupported) desktop PC is an AMD Ryzen 7 2700 eight-core CPU running at 3.2Ghz with 16GB of RAM and 2TB of SSD storage. It handles Windows 10 Professional but is apparently incapable of running Windows 11. I don't have a Webcam, but maybe face ID login is now mandated? It will be something stupid like that. I have no interest in replacing this machine though.
Wildgoose··on World conker champion found with steel chestnut, cleared of cheating
So well known that it was even famously used in an advert for a kid's chocolate bar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC9BBLSZZdQ
Wildgoose··on AI headphones let wearer listen to a single person in a crowd by looking at them
My daughter has an auditory impairment which she describes as "brain deaf".

Basically, her hearing is perfect but her brain struggles to process sound in a noisy environment; she can't single out what she is listening to.

This sounds perfect for her!

Wildgoose··on Ask HN: Interesting TUIs (text user interfaces), maybe forgotten ones?
I still run my (Unix) terminals sized to 80x43 by default.
Wildgoose··on A tiny ultrabright laser that can melt steel
Combine these with hydrogen-boron (aneutronic) fusion and we may be able to generate electricity directly without needing a thermal plant. Even though we are years away it still shows a possible path forwards. Here's hoping!
Wildgoose··on Kobo announces color e-readers
I really wish someone would revive mirasol displays. Sunlight-readable fast colour displays for e-readers and everything.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R352WObkU3Q

Wildgoose··on After AI beat them, professional Go players got better and more creative
Agreed. With a 3-3 you are trading away influence in favour of hard territory. AI is happy to do that very early because AI can effectively destroy influence. Human players need to learn to enter 3-3 at "the last possible moment". That requires judgement.
Wildgoose··on Why are there suddenly so many car washes?
Thanks for that - fascinating story!

http://www.queenoftheisles.com/HTML/Republic%20of%20Minerva....

Wildgoose··on 'If anything happens, it's not suicide': Boeing whistleblower before death
Thanks, I hadn't heard that before.
Wildgoose··on A parliament of owls and a murder of crows: How groups of birds got their names
Absolutely!
Wildgoose··on Fossil is quitting smartwatches
I love my Fossil Hybrid smartwatch! This is terrible news for those of us who want a watch that has smart features, as opposed to a miniature wrist phone.
Wildgoose··on The hovercraft's time might have arrived
I really enjoyed travelling between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight by hovercraft and heartily recommend the experience to anyone who hasn't tried it.
Wildgoose··on Are Joint Bank Accounts the Secret to a Happy Marriage?
My wife and I each run a joint account. So, we each have our "own" account, (at different banks), but they are shared. That certainly works well for us, and we aren't beholden to a single bank.
Wildgoose··on Ask HN: What 1980s/90s-era shareware did you purchase?
I remember paying for Opera, twice, back in the early days of the Web when it stood head and shoulders above the competition.

I am still happy to make a contribution for useful software, e.g. WinSCP.

Wildgoose··on Show HN: Play a pen-and-paper game that is almost unknown in the US and Europe
Thanks - I was struggling to understand the game explanation on the original site.
Wildgoose··on New Zealand scraps world-first smoking 'generation ban' to fund tax cuts
Lots of outrage, but where is the pragmatic reality? Prohibition didn't eliminate alcohol. The "War on Drugs" has been a spectacular failure.

Surely it makes better sense to tax this behaviour and try to mitigate the harm caused?

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