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User: albacrankie

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  1. Re:Adopt those words and expressions that make sen on Is American English Going To Take Over British English Completely? (scroll.in) · · Score: 1

    I don't think this is slang. Phrasal verbs is the posh term. In this case, the two-word phrasal verb "put up" (accommodate) is different from the three-word "put up with" (tolerate). One question is whether the the final word is really a preposition or an adverb. If you can separate the main verb from the other bit (We put my mother-in-law up in the attic.) suggests it is an adverb. If separating the words sounds weird (We couldn't put up with my mother-in-law's moaning.), it's probably a preposition.

    Therefore, saying, "We could put Churchill up." is fine.

  2. This leak shines a spotlight on... on 198 Million Americans Hit By 'Largest Ever' Voter Records Leak (zdnet.com) · · Score: 3, Insightful

    In my case, the spotlight is on managers who say, "put everything on S3".

  3. Re: s/drug trials/climate change/g on Most Scientists 'Can't Replicate Studies By Their Peers' (bbc.com) · · Score: 1

    Name one study offering a credible alternative explanation for observed phenomena.

    What observed phenomena?

  4. Re:The law doesn't actually say they can lie on Does The 'Snoopers Charter' Also Enshrine Lying In Court? (theregister.co.uk) · · Score: 1

    'If you are allowed to submit "unverifiable" or what I call inscrutable evidence then it is every bit a legal permission to lie'

    I'm no legal expert, but does this not depend on the rules of corroboration in the relevant jurisdiction? For example, I think in Scotland it wouldn't be enough for a witness to say they heard the accused say something, whether a lie or not. The evidence has to be corroborated in some way before it will be accepted. (I'm not sure if a second lying spy would count as corroboration though.)

  5. Re:Only 40 years?? on Scientists Discover Three Potentially Habitable Planets (mit.edu) · · Score: 1

    It would probably be better to send an advance party of experts to set things up properly. Marketing executives and nutritional scientists come to mind. (Do we need telephone sanitizers these days?)

  6. Re:I just don't get how it happens on The History of SQL Injection, the Hack That Will Never Go Away (vice.com) · · Score: 2

    "For those who don't know PHP, the answer is:"

    Except when it isn't. What's the source of that $name parameter to your function? Has it been sanitized in any way? I can imagine your interviewees taking a punt on what kind of idiot they are facing. (Looks like he was born in 1955 so the answer is probably x)

  7. The braying of donkeys on Big Data Attempts To Find Meaning In 40 Years of UK Political Debate (thestack.com) · · Score: 2

    The UK's youngest member of parliament had this to say after here first few weeks in the job:

    "So you’re not allowed to clap like an ordinary person, but you’re allowed to bray like a donkey? I mean, see PMQs, especially the Conservative side, they’ve got this weird noise they do. It actually sounds like a drunken mob."

  8. Re:Fine but they should invest in wind next on Japan To Restart Nuclear Power Tomorrow After Energy Prices Soar · · Score: 1

    it's quite a small country

    It's not that small. Larger than Germany, smaller than Sweden.

    If the accident had been West of Tokyo it would have been incredibly, stupendously bad

    Perhaps, but if by "west" you mean the Japan Sea coast, the tsunami risk is substantially lower.

  9. It gets things done on PHP At 20: From Pet Project To Powerhouse · · Score: 1

    I can't say I love it, but it's usually available, and it usually works. What's the problem?

  10. Re:$100 billion for 150 miles? on Maglev Train Exceeds 600km/h For World Record · · Score: 1

    Yes. It was Hitachi-Zosen. I'm guessing the training center is no longer there. It was a bit of ghost building at the time, and the company was suffering severe problems. I've read about the POWs. I doubt the fact that the company was founded by a man from Belfast made them feel any better. I'm glad the ferry is still running.

    I have in-laws on the Shikoku side, and so Onomichi is the first symbol of civilization for them. :-) Sadly, I heard the opening of the expressway led to the closing of the Hiroshima-Imabari passenger ferry (sea bus?). That was one great boat trip.

  11. Re:$100 billion for 150 miles? on Maglev Train Exceeds 600km/h For World Record · · Score: 1

    The shinkansen station may have been built because of pork-barrel politics, but Onomichi is not such a dead end. Shipbuilding used to be a major industry, especially on the nearby island of Innoshima. These days, it sits at an important transport junction where the Nishi Seto Expressway crosses from Honshu to Shikoku. I once spent three works in a company training center on the island of Mukaijima, immediately across the water from Onomichi. This was about 30 years ago. I remember taking the cable-pulled ferry across the water and then queuing for ramen. At that time, they had started building the bridges that would connect Honshu and Shikoku. I got to drive across about seven years ago.

  12. Re:Stupid Question on How Space Can Expand Faster Than the Speed of Light · · Score: 1

    Doesn't seem a stupid question to me.

    But at the speed of light not only does time slow, but space contracts. So I'm not sure we can say that light "travels" through space. It just attaches itself to whatever is touching it. So if we could convert all our body mass to photons, attach those photons to say a planet in another galaxy, and hope someone at the other end has a tool for reconverting those photons back to their original state, then perhaps it's possible. But if you did the return journey because you'd forgotten your swiss army knife, you'd find yourself a huge number of years in the future and that knife might be hard to find.

  13. Re:Common sense to you and me, but... on UK Parliament: Banning Tor Is Unacceptable and Technologically Impossible · · Score: 3, Informative

    A note for those who think language should be descriptive. A "public school" in the UK is a very, very private school, often associated with unhealthy sexual practices and strange ways of speaking. Not everyone who attends such a school is a twat. Some are just plain cunts.

  14. Re:It will never work on Renewables Are Now Scotland's Biggest Energy Source · · Score: 1

    "Scotland gets a lot of income from North Sea oil"

    If only. The income goes to the UK government who, with their great wisdom, spend it on long term "oil investments" such as bombing Iraq

  15. Re:Before the Big Bang on Mathematical Proof That the Universe Could Come From Nothing · · Score: 1

    I didn't intend to bring religion into it. I just wonder whether there are things of which we must remain forever ignorant. The "god" reference was a sarcastic stab at those who are not comfortable with ignorance. We seem bound to concepts such as "before" and "already existed" and find it difficult to shed the concept of time in our understanding of cause and effect. But this always leads to endless turtles. "created from nothing" is a convenient answer, and it may well be true. But I'm not sure how we would ever know.

  16. Re:Before the Big Bang on Mathematical Proof That the Universe Could Come From Nothing · · Score: 1

    "before the big bang"

    What do you mean by "before"? Don't we have to face the possibility that there may be certain properties of existence that are impossible for us to even ask about, never mind understand. Perhaps the only choice is God or ignorance. The only certainty is that I don't know.

  17. Re:Well Duh? on Lost Sense of Smell Is a Strong Predictor of Death Within 5 Years · · Score: 1

    "I take it you are unfamiliar with concepts like "bacon", "flowers" and "coffee" then?"

    Any reason you left out napalm?

  18. Re:This isn't about units on David Cameron Says Brits Should Be Taught Imperial Measures · · Score: 1

    "UKIP is definitely the Tea party of the Conservative Party in the UK"

    But much funnier.

  19. Re:Look at the geography on Scotland's Independence Vote Could Shake Up Industry · · Score: 1

    People in Newcastle, Carlisle and parts of Lancashire might disagree about the benefits, but I agree with your general point. And rather than simply waiting to be charged, I hope Scotland will take a more active approach. For example, rail improvements from Scotland to the north of England might be something that Scotland would propose and be willing to fork up the lion's share of the cash for. But it would resolve to money, and who perceives most benefit. These things can usually be thrashed out round a table.

  20. Re:at least the nuclear weapons will be gone on Scotland's Independence Vote Could Shake Up Industry · · Score: 1

    For me, it's not about whether they guarantee my enemy's destruction, but whether they increase or lessen my own chance of destruction. Under the cold war, while uncomfortable, I believe they probably reduced the level of warfare. And I still think that three superpowers having such weapons may be a good thing. But for the life of me, I can't think of any circumstances in which the UK would actually fire one of these things independently of the USA or what a possible target might be.

  21. Re:This isn't scaremongering. on Scotland's Independence Vote Could Shake Up Industry · · Score: 1

    But, but, all those resources make us an obvious target for evil countries who would like to exploit us. Aren't we much safer to share those resources with a friendly and mature country in return for their protection, guidance and economic skills? Especially a country that has the clout to negotiate on our behalf with those devious Europeans.

  22. Re:at least the nuclear weapons will be gone on Scotland's Independence Vote Could Shake Up Industry · · Score: 1

    Could you explain how the Trident missiles help to defend me or my family? I prefer not to pay for them because I see them as pretty much fucking useless.

    On the other hand, we frequently get low flying military aircraft over our house, on training runs. These don't come cheap either, but I see them as a useful thing to have and am quite happy to pay my share for them.

  23. Re:at least the nuclear weapons will be gone on Scotland's Independence Vote Could Shake Up Industry · · Score: 1

    Still? I thought they had moved out in 1992. Or is there something other than the Holy Loch base?

  24. Golf logic on Why Atheists Need Captain Kirk · · Score: 2

    Is it strange if you base your beliefs on rational foundations, but base your actions on other concepts? I don't believe in god because I see no evidence. I sometimes play golf, which makes no rational sense, but I enjoy it. I'm not sure what values I apply to either of these things.

  25. Re:Mt. Miyajima? on Mt. Fuji Volcano In 'Critical State' After Quakes · · Score: 1

    Are you sure it wasn't you that was smoking at the time?

    Perhaps you mean Sakurajima?