The one thing I have heard about batteries is there is concern about the weight of modern hybrid vehicles especially those parked in multi-storey car parks where there is concern the structures built in thr 60s and 70s can't take the weight of hundreds of hybrid vehicles.
Anyone heard this?
EVs are 200-300kg heavier than their ICE equivalents. Out of tons.
A car park should have multiple 100s of percentage structural margins.
I would suggest there is more a problem with shoddy construction, shoddy maintenance and people driving giant SUVs (especially on the US)
"A car park should have multiple 100s of percentage structural margins."
Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Particularly as many are fifty years old, and materials age. Most importantly, cars have increased in weight massively over the decades.
A 1970 Austin Mini 1000 weighed 620 Kg. A modern Mimi weights double or triple that.
Another example: a Land Rover series 1 weighed, 1184kg (less than a modern Mini). A Land Rover Defender weighs 2348kg.
Yup - and I wonder how many have been given a special “it’s alright really, those cracks mean nothing, and we will fix them Real Soon” write up.
Yes, but you blithely discount the significant extra increase from EVs. It matters.
If it does, the car parks must have no margin. In which case… WTF?
Bit like a friend, on the management committee of his block of flats, who was told that the block couldn’t take the weight of fireproof cladding. Yes, it was structurally inadequate to a shocking extent, already.
If cars increasing in weight 15% is going to cause problems for car parks then we *already* have a problem.
The one thing I have heard about batteries is there is concern about the weight of modern hybrid vehicles especially those parked in multi-storey car parks where there is concern the structures built in thr 60s and 70s can't take the weight of hundreds of hybrid vehicles.
Anyone heard this?
EVs are 200-300kg heavier than their ICE equivalents. Out of tons.
A car park should have multiple 100s of percentage structural margins.
I would suggest there is more a problem with shoddy construction, shoddy maintenance and people driving giant SUVs (especially on the US)
"A car park should have multiple 100s of percentage structural margins."
Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Particularly as many are fifty years old, and materials age. Most importantly, cars have increased in weight massively over the decades.
A 1970 Austin Mini 1000 weighed 620 Kg. A modern Mimi weights double or triple that.
Another example: a Land Rover series 1 weighed, 1184kg (less than a modern Mini). A Land Rover Defender weighs 2348kg.
Most of the increase in weight isn't due to being electric cars then, just a general increase in weight of new cars.
The weight of EVs goes on top of the increase in weight of modern cars (as Malms states above, much of which is for safety reasons - genuine thanks to Nader.)
I’m posting again on the bizarre idea - signed off by the government - to close railway ticket offices.
Apparently all ticket offices at Euston, for example, are to go.
This is the “enshittification” of the railways.
I used to commute regularly to London when in business in the 1990s and never used a ticket office even then
When I lived in London in 1991-5, I used monthly tickets. But I purchased them at the ticket office.
Times and tech have changed since then, though.
One thing I will say though, as an occasional visitor to London: Oyster and tap-in, tap-out are non-intuitive and non-obvious compared to tickets. Great for the frequent user, opaque to someone who rarely frequents the metropolis.
Do you mean that you struggle with tapping in and out at the start of the journey?
Or do you mean that you think that lots of people are utterly stupid?
No. It's a question of knowing that's how you do it (the signage is horrible), and which journeys it can be used on, particularly if your endpoint or startpoint is on the outskirts of London. Is that station included or not? How can I find out?
It's fine for frequent users; for infrequent users it's a case of wtf!
Also, which bankcards can be used: an acquaintance has an American bank card that was not accepted.
There is a non trivial problem with people leaving the London tap in area to arrive at stations where they need a ticket.
The one thing I have heard about batteries is there is concern about the weight of modern hybrid vehicles especially those parked in multi-storey car parks where there is concern the structures built in thr 60s and 70s can't take the weight of hundreds of hybrid vehicles.
Anyone heard this?
EVs are 200-300kg heavier than their ICE equivalents. Out of tons.
A car park should have multiple 100s of percentage structural margins.
I would suggest there is more a problem with shoddy construction, shoddy maintenance and people driving giant SUVs (especially on the US)
"A car park should have multiple 100s of percentage structural margins."
Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Particularly as many are fifty years old, and materials age. Most importantly, cars have increased in weight massively over the decades.
A 1970 Austin Mini 1000 weighed 620 Kg. A modern Mimi weights double or triple that.
Another example: a Land Rover series 1 weighed, 1184kg (less than a modern Mini). A Land Rover Defender weighs 2348kg.
Yup - and I wonder how many have been given a special “it’s alright really, those cracks mean nothing, and we will fix them Real Soon” write up.
Yes, but you blithely discount the significant extra increase from EVs. It matters.
If it does, the car parks must have no margin. In which case… WTF?
Bit like a friend, on the management committee of his block of flats, who was told that the block couldn’t take the weight of fireproof cladding. Yes, it was structurally inadequate to a shocking extent, already.
If cars increasing in weight 15% is going to cause problems for car parks then we *already* have a problem.
No, but margins get used up. And 15% can really matter.
As I said, structures also age and get weaker (which is one reason for margins in the first place). Especially as live loads are separate to dead loads.
Hundreds of millions in Ulez fines are going unpaid as drivers “revolt” over the controversial charge, casting doubt over its expansion.
Penalty charge notices relating Sadiq Khan’s Ultra-Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) worth £255m were outstanding at the end of last year, The Telegraph can reveal.
The Mayor of London’s flagship net zero scheme was owed more money from drivers in unpaid fines than it made during the financial year from 2022 to 2023, figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act showed.
@RochdalePioneers was irritated and angry this morning that anyone should have the temerity to complain and anyway it only affected a handful of cars
Seems it is affecting a large number of ordinary folks who are either unable to pay or won't pay
Unlike you to sanction lawbreaking BigG.
I am not sanctioning anything but it is clear the fines are not being collected
What Khan and Labour are doing with this clunking fist policy, is bringing the fist down on some of the poorer people in our society. Rather than helping them, where they really can’t help themselves, they are bullying them instead and then prancing around like they are so wonderful and can do no wrong.
Absolute gibberish, as usual.
Is it Labours anti car policies that’s ramping up everyone’s car insurance?
No. It's the frequency and severity of insurance claims. As a young person you will pay far more than an older person, so yours are higher still.
The one thing I have heard about batteries is there is concern about the weight of modern hybrid vehicles especially those parked in multi-storey car parks where there is concern the structures built in thr 60s and 70s can't take the weight of hundreds of hybrid vehicles.
Anyone heard this?
EVs are 200-300kg heavier than their ICE equivalents. Out of tons.
A car park should have multiple 100s of percentage structural margins.
I would suggest there is more a problem with shoddy construction, shoddy maintenance and people driving giant SUVs (especially on the US)
"A car park should have multiple 100s of percentage structural margins."
Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Particularly as many are fifty years old, and materials age. Most importantly, cars have increased in weight massively over the decades.
A 1970 Austin Mini 1000 weighed 620 Kg. A modern Mimi weights double or triple that.
Another example: a Land Rover series 1 weighed, 1184kg (less than a modern Mini). A Land Rover Defender weighs 2348kg.
Most of the increase in weight isn't due to being electric cars then, just a general increase in weight of new cars.
The weight of EVs goes on top of the increase in weight of modern cars (as Malms states above, much of which is for safety reasons - genuine thanks to Nader.)
That's what, doubling or trebling the loading on a diurnal off/on cycle, with lots more fatigue potential, as well as increasing the dynamic loadings. Not just the static ones.
I’m posting again on the bizarre idea - signed off by the government - to close railway ticket offices.
Apparently all ticket offices at Euston, for example, are to go.
This is the “enshittification” of the railways.
I used to commute regularly to London when in business in the 1990s and never used a ticket office even then
When I lived in London in 1991-5, I used monthly tickets. But I purchased them at the ticket office.
Times and tech have changed since then, though.
One thing I will say though, as an occasional visitor to London: Oyster and tap-in, tap-out are non-intuitive and non-obvious compared to tickets. Great for the frequent user, opaque to someone who rarely frequents the metropolis.
Do you mean that you struggle with tapping in and out at the start of the journey?
Or do you mean that you think that lots of people are utterly stupid?
No. It's a question of knowing that's how you do it (the signage is horrible), and which journeys it can be used on, particularly if your endpoint or startpoint is on the outskirts of London. Is that station included or not? How can I find out?
It's fine for frequent users; for infrequent users it's a case of wtf!
Also, which bankcards can be used: an acquaintance has an American bank card that was not accepted.
There is a non trivial problem with people leaving the London tap in area to arrive at stations where they need a ticket.
Which catches quite a few.
How is that treated atm? It's the sort of thing I get concerned about catching me out.
I’m posting again on the bizarre idea - signed off by the government - to close railway ticket offices.
Apparently all ticket offices at Euston, for example, are to go.
This is the “enshittification” of the railways.
I used to commute regularly to London when in business in the 1990s and never used a ticket office even then
When I lived in London in 1991-5, I used monthly tickets. But I purchased them at the ticket office.
Times and tech have changed since then, though.
One thing I will say though, as an occasional visitor to London: Oyster and tap-in, tap-out are non-intuitive and non-obvious compared to tickets. Great for the frequent user, opaque to someone who rarely frequents the metropolis.
Do you mean that you struggle with tapping in and out at the start of the journey?
Or do you mean that you think that lots of people are utterly stupid?
No. It's a question of knowing that's how you do it (the signage is horrible), and which journeys it can be used on, particularly if your endpoint or startpoint is on the outskirts of London. Is that station included or not? How can I find out?
The one thing I have heard about batteries is there is concern about the weight of modern hybrid vehicles especially those parked in multi-storey car parks where there is concern the structures built in thr 60s and 70s can't take the weight of hundreds of hybrid vehicles.
Anyone heard this?
Yes, it was on here a week or two ago. I think @rcs1000 pooh-poohed it on various grounds which I really wish I could remember...😀
Yes, it's a battery story, but Toyota is one company I'd 'trust' on such stories.
"Toyota says solid-state battery breakthrough can halve cost and size Japanese carmaker plans to commercialise technology in electric vehicles by 2027"
If they are claiming in consumer vehicles in 2027, they’d need to have a full sized test item in a test car now…
Edit : there is no existing factory for solid state batteries on such a scale. So they will need one. To get one up and running in 2027, they would need to be breaking ground… about now. Are they?
They might have a full-scale test items in cars by now. How can you tell what battery chemistries they are using?
Factories can be altered... at an expense.
'New miracle battery chemistry' stories occur regularly. I'm very bearish on them. I have little doubt that *one* approach will work, but it's impossible from the outside to guess which. But I take Toyota saying this much more seriously than, say, the uni of West Scotland.
I think it's unlikely that any entirely new battery technology would be able to use existing plants. Modern battery plants are incredibly optimised around producing standard cells at very low cost.
But I wouldn't worry, as I doubt this new technology will be available to buy until the very end of this decade. If ever.
The one thing I have heard about batteries is there is concern about the weight of modern hybrid vehicles especially those parked in multi-storey car parks where there is concern the structures built in thr 60s and 70s can't take the weight of hundreds of hybrid vehicles.
Anyone heard this?
EVs are 200-300kg heavier than their ICE equivalents. Out of tons.
A car park should have multiple 100s of percentage structural margins.
I would suggest there is more a problem with shoddy construction, shoddy maintenance and people driving giant SUVs (especially on the US)
"A car park should have multiple 100s of percentage structural margins."
Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Particularly as many are fifty years old, and materials age. Most importantly, cars have increased in weight massively over the decades.
A 1970 Austin Mini 1000 weighed 620 Kg. A modern Mimi weights double or triple that.
Another example: a Land Rover series 1 weighed, 1184kg (less than a modern Mini). A Land Rover Defender weighs 2348kg.
And car parks have varying loadings (night vs day), and (to some extent) dynamic ones.
Dead loads (the loads of the structure itself) versus live loads (the weight of things that vary: in this case people, cars, snow, rain, thermal expansion etc.)
I’m posting again on the bizarre idea - signed off by the government - to close railway ticket offices.
Apparently all ticket offices at Euston, for example, are to go.
This is the “enshittification” of the railways.
I used to commute regularly to London when in business in the 1990s and never used a ticket office even then
When I lived in London in 1991-5, I used monthly tickets. But I purchased them at the ticket office.
Times and tech have changed since then, though.
One thing I will say though, as an occasional visitor to London: Oyster and tap-in, tap-out are non-intuitive and non-obvious compared to tickets. Great for the frequent user, opaque to someone who rarely frequents the metropolis.
Do you mean that you struggle with tapping in and out at the start of the journey?
Or do you mean that you think that lots of people are utterly stupid?
No. It's a question of knowing that's how you do it (the signage is horrible), and which journeys it can be used on, particularly if your endpoint or startpoint is on the outskirts of London. Is that station included or not? How can I find out?
It's fine for frequent users; for infrequent users it's a case of wtf!
Also, which bankcards can be used: an acquaintance has an American bank card that was not accepted.
There is a non trivial problem with people leaving the London tap in area to arrive at stations where they need a ticket.
Which catches quite a few.
How is that treated atm? It's the sort of thing I get concerned about catching me out.
The approved policy for South West Trains is illustrated in this video
Yes, it's a battery story, but Toyota is one company I'd 'trust' on such stories.
"Toyota says solid-state battery breakthrough can halve cost and size Japanese carmaker plans to commercialise technology in electric vehicles by 2027"
If they are claiming in consumer vehicles in 2027, they’d need to have a full sized test item in a test car now…
Edit : there is no existing factory for solid state batteries on such a scale. So they will need one. To get one up and running in 2027, they would need to be breaking ground… about now. Are they?
They might have a full-scale test items in cars by now. How can you tell what battery chemistries they are using?
Factories can be altered... at an expense.
'New miracle battery chemistry' stories occur regularly. I'm very bearish on them. I have little doubt that *one* approach will work, but it's impossible from the outside to guess which. But I take Toyota saying this much more seriously than, say, the uni of West Scotland.
If they have a pack up and running, then it is surprising they didn’t show case the vehicle running laps. That would have really done wonders for their share price.
Lithium to solid state battery production would be a tear out. If you are lucky, you’d keep the building…
Do you criticise Musk for the same thing?
Not for making claims about batteries.
Tesla seem to have, over years, been quite good at building vehicles which then match the range tests by government bodies and others.
As far as I am aware, they have stayed well away from any claims of revolutionary technology in batteries - beyond bringing reliability to large scale use of small lithium cells. Which was actually a piece of rather interesting engineering.
IIRC they were heavily criticised for their lack design approach at the beginning - to the point of their business being called a fraud.
I visited their factory before the Model S was launched, and about a third of it was dedicated to battery cell testing. They had cells from LG Chem, from SAFT, etc., and they were running them through thousands of cycles to see which ones held up well enough.
A few years later they decided it was simpler to just do it all* in house.
I’m posting again on the bizarre idea - signed off by the government - to close railway ticket offices.
Apparently all ticket offices at Euston, for example, are to go.
This is the “enshittification” of the railways.
I used to commute regularly to London when in business in the 1990s and never used a ticket office even then
When I lived in London in 1991-5, I used monthly tickets. But I purchased them at the ticket office.
Times and tech have changed since then, though.
One thing I will say though, as an occasional visitor to London: Oyster and tap-in, tap-out are non-intuitive and non-obvious compared to tickets. Great for the frequent user, opaque to someone who rarely frequents the metropolis.
Do you mean that you struggle with tapping in and out at the start of the journey?
Or do you mean that you think that lots of people are utterly stupid?
No. It's a question of knowing that's how you do it (the signage is horrible), and which journeys it can be used on, particularly if your endpoint or startpoint is on the outskirts of London. Is that station included or not? How can I find out?
I’m posting again on the bizarre idea - signed off by the government - to close railway ticket offices.
Apparently all ticket offices at Euston, for example, are to go.
This is the “enshittification” of the railways.
I used to commute regularly to London when in business in the 1990s and never used a ticket office even then
When I lived in London in 1991-5, I used monthly tickets. But I purchased them at the ticket office.
Times and tech have changed since then, though.
One thing I will say though, as an occasional visitor to London: Oyster and tap-in, tap-out are non-intuitive and non-obvious compared to tickets. Great for the frequent user, opaque to someone who rarely frequents the metropolis.
Do you mean that you struggle with tapping in and out at the start of the journey?
Or do you mean that you think that lots of people are utterly stupid?
No. It's a question of knowing that's how you do it (the signage is horrible), and which journeys it can be used on, particularly if your endpoint or startpoint is on the outskirts of London. Is that station included or not? How can I find out?
It's fine for frequent users; for infrequent users it's a case of wtf!
Also, which bankcards can be used: an acquaintance has an American bank card that was not accepted.
There is a non trivial problem with people leaving the London tap in area to arrive at stations where they need a ticket.
Which catches quite a few.
How is that treated atm? It's the sort of thing I get concerned about catching me out.
The approved policy for South West Trains is illustrated in this video
ONS, or OSR as they now style themselves, rebukes Sadiq Khan for his figures that suggest only 10% of vehicles currently driving in the expanded zone, are not exempt from paying the charge.
Meanwhile, figures for last year, with the smaller zone around the A406 and A205 (north circular and south circular roads) show revenues of £230m (including £75m in fines), and outstanding fines of £250m.
Oh, and the expansion zone is many times bigger than the existing zone.
£12.50 a day. All day, every day.
You can get a compliant car for less than that.
Can you? Link please, to car that’s £12.50 a day. Presumably one of these American-style “Buy Here Pay Here” dealerships now has one available?
£12.50/day is £375/month. That's going to buy something reasonable, if not DuraAce-compliant.
The important point is that no deposit and no credit rating needs to be required - a product available for someone on a zero-hours contract, let’s say delivering parcels.
While we are taking about people who are in such positions…
A while back we were discussing bank account access for the poor. Given the profusion of accounts with rapid sign up, offering no credit, but with all the other facilities of a bank account, from both the banks and the alt-banks, what is the significant blocker for poor people getting a simple account like that?
Credit worthiness shouldn’t be the block there - what is?
Depends on whether they are available from the HS or only online. For the 14 million people with very limited or no online access the latter could be a problem.
Obviously if there is a HS option that does not apply.
Anyone on Universal Credit pretty much has to be online, or have a helper who can get online for them.
I think the latter is more likely to be the case given that the Digital Poverty charity are the ones I am quoting to get the 14 million figure (which I must admit very mch surprised me when I first heard it a couple of months ago).
Having someone do the online UC stuff for you once every few months is not the same as having daily or even weekly access to banking
It isn't once every few months. You get regular to-do lists and all queries, complaints, questions are Online.
Still something that can be dealt with by getting someone else to access for you.
So the question remains, how do 14 million people with limited or no internet access manage to handle online banking?
Lots of different numbers around even in this one report but "According to Ofcom’s Communications Affordability Tracker, the latest estimate regarding the number of households which do not have internet access, at least partially due to cost, stands at 100,000". Admittedly other numbers in the report are higher but not anywhere near 14 million.
The 14 million number likely includes lots of people who have internet access but consider it expensive and/or people who actively choose mobile internet access ahead of landline internet access.
And of those without internet access the most common reason by far (74%) was no need to go online. Price was at around 11%.
As I said the 14 million comes from the Digital Poverty Alliance and to be honest I would trust them a hell of a lot more than Ofcom.
From their own website
"6% of the UK population have no access to the internet – with 20% of young people aged 8-24 lacking the ability to get online."
That is around 4 million people with no access at all. There are an additional 10 million with only very limited access.
That said, the Digital Poverty Alliance is a pressure group with a mission to pursue. It's a laudable mission imo but they are clearly not unbiased.
You might as well trust the Taxpayers' Alliance.
Yes, I don't trust any group whose very purpose means you can write their response to anything without them even bothering. It's not as though evidence would change a pressure group's mind, even the one's with positive goals.
I welcome any input, but I dispute that such groups produce any sort of genuine analysis.
The one thing I have heard about batteries is there is concern about the weight of modern hybrid vehicles especially those parked in multi-storey car parks where there is concern the structures built in thr 60s and 70s can't take the weight of hundreds of hybrid vehicles.
Anyone heard this?
EVs are 200-300kg heavier than their ICE equivalents. Out of tons.
A car park should have multiple 100s of percentage structural margins.
I would suggest there is more a problem with shoddy construction, shoddy maintenance and people driving giant SUVs (especially on the US)
"A car park should have multiple 100s of percentage structural margins."
Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Particularly as many are fifty years old, and materials age. Most importantly, cars have increased in weight massively over the decades.
A 1970 Austin Mini 1000 weighed 620 Kg. A modern Mimi weights double or triple that.
Another example: a Land Rover series 1 weighed, 1184kg (less than a modern Mini). A Land Rover Defender weighs 2348kg.
And car parks have varying loadings (night vs day), and (to some extent) dynamic ones.
Dead loads (the loads of the structure itself) versus live loads (the weight of things that vary: in this case people, cars, snow, rain, thermal expansion etc.)
The grotesque thing about that is the man in charge knew the building was about to collapse and left it, but ordered that staff not evacuate either shoppers or themselves. Ten years was too little.
I’m posting again on the bizarre idea - signed off by the government - to close railway ticket offices.
Apparently all ticket offices at Euston, for example, are to go.
This is the “enshittification” of the railways.
I used to commute regularly to London when in business in the 1990s and never used a ticket office even then
When I lived in London in 1991-5, I used monthly tickets. But I purchased them at the ticket office.
Times and tech have changed since then, though.
One thing I will say though, as an occasional visitor to London: Oyster and tap-in, tap-out are non-intuitive and non-obvious compared to tickets. Great for the frequent user, opaque to someone who rarely frequents the metropolis.
Do you mean that you struggle with tapping in and out at the start of the journey?
Or do you mean that you think that lots of people are utterly stupid?
No. It's a question of knowing that's how you do it (the signage is horrible), and which journeys it can be used on, particularly if your endpoint or startpoint is on the outskirts of London. Is that station included or not? How can I find out?
The one thing I have heard about batteries is there is concern about the weight of modern hybrid vehicles especially those parked in multi-storey car parks where there is concern the structures built in thr 60s and 70s can't take the weight of hundreds of hybrid vehicles.
Anyone heard this?
EVs are 200-300kg heavier than their ICE equivalents. Out of tons.
A car park should have multiple 100s of percentage structural margins.
I would suggest there is more a problem with shoddy construction, shoddy maintenance and people driving giant SUVs (especially on the US)
"A car park should have multiple 100s of percentage structural margins."
Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Particularly as many are fifty years old, and materials age. Most importantly, cars have increased in weight massively over the decades.
A 1970 Austin Mini 1000 weighed 620 Kg. A modern Mimi weights double or triple that.
Another example: a Land Rover series 1 weighed, 1184kg (less than a modern Mini). A Land Rover Defender weighs 2348kg.
Yup - and I wonder how many have been given a special “it’s alright really, those cracks mean nothing, and we will fix them Real Soon” write up.
Yes, but you blithely discount the significant extra increase from EVs. It matters.
If it does, the car parks must have no margin. In which case… WTF?
Bit like a friend, on the management committee of his block of flats, who was told that the block couldn’t take the weight of fireproof cladding. Yes, it was structurally inadequate to a shocking extent, already.
If cars increasing in weight 15% is going to cause problems for car parks then we *already* have a problem.
We do have a problem. Which EVs will make worse. Ignoring that is, frankly, stoopid.
Entirely off-topic but experts on here to consult. I'm going to defect from Windows to Mac. Much as I like the form factor of this Surface Pro 8, it's already showing its age (15 months of heavy use) and Windows 11 is still a pain.
Need to improve and greatly speed up video processing and workflow, want a unit that is robust and lasts a few years. Need to work on the move so that rules out a Mini. Soooo I think a 14" Pro will fit the bill.
A few questions about 10 core vs 12 core processors, or do I go mad and go M2 Max? Budget less of an issue than getting the spec right, don't want to go completely overboard but also a few hundred quid more on various options better to spend up front than end up under-spec. Anyway its a company purchase so true cost is 70% of retail anyway.
I am going to a Prom concert on 4th August. I am driving down on the day and staying in Greenwich. Given the various issues discussed in the current thread what route should I take to get to Greenwich to avoid charges and what is the best way to get from Greenwich to the Albert Hall?
I’m posting again on the bizarre idea - signed off by the government - to close railway ticket offices.
Apparently all ticket offices at Euston, for example, are to go.
This is the “enshittification” of the railways.
I used to commute regularly to London when in business in the 1990s and never used a ticket office even then
When I lived in London in 1991-5, I used monthly tickets. But I purchased them at the ticket office.
Times and tech have changed since then, though.
One thing I will say though, as an occasional visitor to London: Oyster and tap-in, tap-out are non-intuitive and non-obvious compared to tickets. Great for the frequent user, opaque to someone who rarely frequents the metropolis.
Do you mean that you struggle with tapping in and out at the start of the journey?
Or do you mean that you think that lots of people are utterly stupid?
No. It's a question of knowing that's how you do it (the signage is horrible), and which journeys it can be used on, particularly if your endpoint or startpoint is on the outskirts of London. Is that station included or not? How can I find out?
I’m posting again on the bizarre idea - signed off by the government - to close railway ticket offices.
Apparently all ticket offices at Euston, for example, are to go.
This is the “enshittification” of the railways.
I used to commute regularly to London when in business in the 1990s and never used a ticket office even then
When I lived in London in 1991-5, I used monthly tickets. But I purchased them at the ticket office.
Times and tech have changed since then, though.
One thing I will say though, as an occasional visitor to London: Oyster and tap-in, tap-out are non-intuitive and non-obvious compared to tickets. Great for the frequent user, opaque to someone who rarely frequents the metropolis.
Do you mean that you struggle with tapping in and out at the start of the journey?
Or do you mean that you think that lots of people are utterly stupid?
No. It's a question of knowing that's how you do it (the signage is horrible), and which journeys it can be used on, particularly if your endpoint or startpoint is on the outskirts of London. Is that station included or not? How can I find out?
The one thing I have heard about batteries is there is concern about the weight of modern hybrid vehicles especially those parked in multi-storey car parks where there is concern the structures built in thr 60s and 70s can't take the weight of hundreds of hybrid vehicles.
Anyone heard this?
EVs are 200-300kg heavier than their ICE equivalents. Out of tons.
A car park should have multiple 100s of percentage structural margins.
I would suggest there is more a problem with shoddy construction, shoddy maintenance and people driving giant SUVs (especially on the US)
"A car park should have multiple 100s of percentage structural margins."
Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Particularly as many are fifty years old, and materials age. Most importantly, cars have increased in weight massively over the decades.
A 1970 Austin Mini 1000 weighed 620 Kg. A modern Mimi weights double or triple that.
Another example: a Land Rover series 1 weighed, 1184kg (less than a modern Mini). A Land Rover Defender weighs 2348kg.
And car parks have varying loadings (night vs day), and (to some extent) dynamic ones.
Dead loads (the loads of the structure itself) versus live loads (the weight of things that vary: in this case people, cars, snow, rain, thermal expansion etc.)
The grotesque thing about that is the man in charge knew the building was about to collapse and left it, but ordered that staff not evacuate either shoppers or themselves. Ten years was too little.
I’m posting again on the bizarre idea - signed off by the government - to close railway ticket offices.
Apparently all ticket offices at Euston, for example, are to go.
This is the “enshittification” of the railways.
I used to commute regularly to London when in business in the 1990s and never used a ticket office even then
When I lived in London in 1991-5, I used monthly tickets. But I purchased them at the ticket office.
Times and tech have changed since then, though.
One thing I will say though, as an occasional visitor to London: Oyster and tap-in, tap-out are non-intuitive and non-obvious compared to tickets. Great for the frequent user, opaque to someone who rarely frequents the metropolis.
Do you mean that you struggle with tapping in and out at the start of the journey?
Or do you mean that you think that lots of people are utterly stupid?
No. It's a question of knowing that's how you do it (the signage is horrible), and which journeys it can be used on, particularly if your endpoint or startpoint is on the outskirts of London. Is that station included or not? How can I find out?
Big G used the internet to buy his season tickets in the 1990s?
OK.
You have misread my post
I did not have a season ticket but I took 18 journeys to London in 2 years and never went near a ticket office
But you said you bought them online, earlier in your reply to me. Thinking back, that wasn't possible in 1993 - I changed jobs and email was barely a thing. 1999?
Edit: it hardly matters when. The basic point was you knew what ticket to buy and where to go. But the ticketing and fares system is still horrendous. It's a ripoff charter to abolish ticket offices.
I’m posting again on the bizarre idea - signed off by the government - to close railway ticket offices.
Apparently all ticket offices at Euston, for example, are to go.
This is the “enshittification” of the railways.
I used to commute regularly to London when in business in the 1990s and never used a ticket office even then
When I lived in London in 1991-5, I used monthly tickets. But I purchased them at the ticket office.
Times and tech have changed since then, though.
One thing I will say though, as an occasional visitor to London: Oyster and tap-in, tap-out are non-intuitive and non-obvious compared to tickets. Great for the frequent user, opaque to someone who rarely frequents the metropolis.
Do you mean that you struggle with tapping in and out at the start of the journey?
Or do you mean that you think that lots of people are utterly stupid?
No. It's a question of knowing that's how you do it (the signage is horrible), and which journeys it can be used on, particularly if your endpoint or startpoint is on the outskirts of London. Is that station included or not? How can I find out?
Big G used the internet to buy his season tickets in the 1990s?
OK.
You have misread my post
I did not have a season ticket but I took 18 journeys to London in 2 years and never went near a ticket office
But you said you bought them online, earlier in your reply to me. Thinking back, that wasn't possible in 1993 - I changed jobs and email was barely a thing. 1999?
Edit: it hardly matters when. The basic point was you knew what ticket to buy and where to go. But the ticketing and fares system is still horrendous. It's a ripoff charter to abolish ticket offices.
As I recall I ordered and paid my tickets direct to Virgin Trains
Oh sweet bleeding Jesus, the Daily Mail Notifications are back
I've not known anything like it. I have installed every possible ad blocker, cleared all data, ticked every No Notifications thingy, yet still they come. The Alien of the internet, the perfect assailant
It's getting to the stage where I might have to do an entire factory reset of the laptop, or buy a new one
Create a new user on your computer. Make sure it’s a local user not a Microsoft account.
(Alternatively, buy yourself a new laptop and I’ll fix your old one and keep it for my own nefarious browsing habits).
I just did every single thing you recommended...... and as soon as I finished, I got a Daily Mail Notification
Would a factory reset do it, d'ya reckon?
(I am v grateful for the advice, even if it's not working so good)
Seriously, can you post a screen shot of the notification (appropriately anonymised)?
If and when I get another, sure
Thing is, I just went looking to uninstall Chrome (thought I'd try that) and I found, lurking in my Apps file, a Daily Mail Online app
How the F did that get in there? No way I ever consciously downloaded that. I know that a few days ago I accidentally clicked "Allow" on a Daily Mail Notifications box - so I have been blaming that
But all the time, this App has been lurking. Like the fungus in The Last of Us, maybe, waiting to be triggered, and burrow its way to the Surface
Apols for sounding like a stuck record but I have never had a unwanted app install itself since switching to Apple 12 years ago.
There's a guy on Twitter who alleges that the Mails' Allow/Block Notifications box is a fake, and merely by clicking on it - even Block - it then installs a widget on your PC
"Not that I should really expect any better, but the fact that the Daily Mail website displays a fake notification consent box so it can spam you after you click "Block" is particularly deceitful."
Big G used the internet to buy his season tickets in the 1990s?
OK.
You have misread my post
I did not have a season ticket but I took 18 journeys to London in 2 years and never went near a ticket office
But you said you bought them online, earlier in your reply to me. Thinking back, that wasn't possible in 1993 - I changed jobs and email was barely a thing. 1999?
Edit: it hardly matters when. The basic point was you knew what ticket to buy and where to go. But the ticketing and fares system is still horrendous. It's a ripoff charter to abolish ticket offices.
As I recall I ordered and paid my tickets direct to Virgin Trains
Biut I repeat: you knew which tickets to order, and where to get them. And had the kit to get them.
The one thing I have heard about batteries is there is concern about the weight of modern hybrid vehicles especially those parked in multi-storey car parks where there is concern the structures built in thr 60s and 70s can't take the weight of hundreds of hybrid vehicles.
Anyone heard this?
EVs are 200-300kg heavier than their ICE equivalents. Out of tons.
A car park should have multiple 100s of percentage structural margins.
I would suggest there is more a problem with shoddy construction, shoddy maintenance and people driving giant SUVs (especially on the US)
"A car park should have multiple 100s of percentage structural margins."
Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Particularly as many are fifty years old, and materials age. Most importantly, cars have increased in weight massively over the decades.
A 1970 Austin Mini 1000 weighed 620 Kg. A modern Mimi weights double or triple that.
Another example: a Land Rover series 1 weighed, 1184kg (less than a modern Mini). A Land Rover Defender weighs 2348kg.
And car parks have varying loadings (night vs day), and (to some extent) dynamic ones.
Dead loads (the loads of the structure itself) versus live loads (the weight of things that vary: in this case people, cars, snow, rain, thermal expansion etc.)
The grotesque thing about that is the man in charge knew the building was about to collapse and left it, but ordered that staff not evacuate either shoppers or themselves. Ten years was too little.
I am going to a Prom concert on 4th August. I am driving down on the day and staying in Greenwich. Given the various issues discussed in the current thread what route should I take to get to Greenwich to avoid charges and what is the best way to get from Greenwich to the Albert Hall?
Unfortunately, Greenwich is already inside the ULEZ (since 2021).
Greenwich to Albert Hall? Take the Southeastern mainline trains from Greenwich station to Cannon Street, then District Line to South Kensington. Failing Cannon Street, some trains go to Charing Cross, where Embankment station on the District Line is a 100 yard walk. At South Kensington, there's a nice long airy subway running north towards the Science Museum and Imperial College. The Albert Hall is next door to Imperial.
ONS, or OSR as they now style themselves, rebukes Sadiq Khan for his figures that suggest only 10% of vehicles currently driving in the expanded zone, are not exempt from paying the charge.
Meanwhile, figures for last year, with the smaller zone around the A406 and A205 (north circular and south circular roads) show revenues of £230m (including £75m in fines), and outstanding fines of £250m.
Oh, and the expansion zone is many times bigger than the existing zone.
£12.50 a day. All day, every day.
You can get a compliant car for less than that.
Can you? Link please, to car that’s £12.50 a day. Presumably one of these American-style “Buy Here Pay Here” dealerships now has one available?
£12.50/day is £375/month. That's going to buy something reasonable, if not DuraAce-compliant.
The important point is that no deposit and no credit rating needs to be required - a product available for someone on a zero-hours contract, let’s say delivering parcels.
Hang on: you don't mean *no* credit rating. Because the only people with *no* credit rating will be people who have never had a single bill - no electricity, no gas, no council tax, no mobile phone contract.
And most importantly... no car insurance.
Now, sure, these people will exist, but there won't be many of them. (And mostly they will be fresh off the MegaBus.)
What I think you mean is people with poor credit.
The credit rating agencies have zero information on me. It can be done. Albeit it takes some effort.
The one thing I have heard about batteries is there is concern about the weight of modern hybrid vehicles especially those parked in multi-storey car parks where there is concern the structures built in thr 60s and 70s can't take the weight of hundreds of hybrid vehicles.
Anyone heard this?
EVs are 200-300kg heavier than their ICE equivalents. Out of tons.
A car park should have multiple 100s of percentage structural margins.
I would suggest there is more a problem with shoddy construction, shoddy maintenance and people driving giant SUVs (especially on the US)
"A car park should have multiple 100s of percentage structural margins."
Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Particularly as many are fifty years old, and materials age. Most importantly, cars have increased in weight massively over the decades.
A 1970 Austin Mini 1000 weighed 620 Kg. A modern Mimi weights double or triple that.
Another example: a Land Rover series 1 weighed, 1184kg (less than a modern Mini). A Land Rover Defender weighs 2348kg.
And car parks have varying loadings (night vs day), and (to some extent) dynamic ones.
Dead loads (the loads of the structure itself) versus live loads (the weight of things that vary: in this case people, cars, snow, rain, thermal expansion etc.)
Entirely off-topic but experts on here to consult. I'm going to defect from Windows to Mac. Much as I like the form factor of this Surface Pro 8, it's already showing its age (15 months of heavy use) and Windows 11 is still a pain.
Need to improve and greatly speed up video processing and workflow, want a unit that is robust and lasts a few years. Need to work on the move so that rules out a Mini. Soooo I think a 14" Pro will fit the bill.
A few questions about 10 core vs 12 core processors, or do I go mad and go M2 Max? Budget less of an issue than getting the spec right, don't want to go completely overboard but also a few hundred quid more on various options better to spend up front than end up under-spec. Anyway its a company purchase so true cost is 70% of retail anyway.
M2 Max etc is great. For editing video and other heavy end tasks. Check what the people using your favourite video editing software are saying, online, about the CPU vs GPU loading.
In buying Macs - get lots of memory. Get at least a 2TB hard drive.
For the processor - I go for the option below the absolute max. That last “point” on the spec seems to be super expensive and not worth it.
I’m posting again on the bizarre idea - signed off by the government - to close railway ticket offices.
Apparently all ticket offices at Euston, for example, are to go.
This is the “enshittification” of the railways.
I used to commute regularly to London when in business in the 1990s and never used a ticket office even then
When I lived in London in 1991-5, I used monthly tickets. But I purchased them at the ticket office.
Times and tech have changed since then, though.
One thing I will say though, as an occasional visitor to London: Oyster and tap-in, tap-out are non-intuitive and non-obvious compared to tickets. Great for the frequent user, opaque to someone who rarely frequents the metropolis.
Do you mean that you struggle with tapping in and out at the start of the journey?
Or do you mean that you think that lots of people are utterly stupid?
No. It's a question of knowing that's how you do it (the signage is horrible), and which journeys it can be used on, particularly if your endpoint or startpoint is on the outskirts of London. Is that station included or not? How can I find out?
It's fine for frequent users; for infrequent users it's a case of wtf!
Also, which bankcards can be used: an acquaintance has an American bank card that was not accepted.
There is a non trivial problem with people leaving the London tap in area to arrive at stations where they need a ticket.
Which catches quite a few.
How is that treated atm? It's the sort of thing I get concerned about catching me out.
On the spot penalty fare, I know to my cost from going to Dartford and not realising that while every other stop on the line was inside the oyster zone, Dartford wasn't. Serves me right for going to Dartford I suppose. I sat illegally in 1st class on the way back in order to stick it to the man.
Big G used the internet to buy his season tickets in the 1990s?
OK.
You have misread my post
I did not have a season ticket but I took 18 journeys to London in 2 years and never went near a ticket office
But you said you bought them online, earlier in your reply to me. Thinking back, that wasn't possible in 1993 - I changed jobs and email was barely a thing. 1999?
Edit: it hardly matters when. The basic point was you knew what ticket to buy and where to go. But the ticketing and fares system is still horrendous. It's a ripoff charter to abolish ticket offices.
As I recall I ordered and paid my tickets direct to Virgin Trains
Biut I repeat: you knew which tickets to order, and where to get them. And had the kit to get them.
Indeed but then we are 30 years on and in the age of the internet
Many in my age group worry about parking apps but it is getting impossible not to have to use them
It is not as convenient for some but it is the way the world is going
ONS, or OSR as they now style themselves, rebukes Sadiq Khan for his figures that suggest only 10% of vehicles currently driving in the expanded zone, are not exempt from paying the charge.
Meanwhile, figures for last year, with the smaller zone around the A406 and A205 (north circular and south circular roads) show revenues of £230m (including £75m in fines), and outstanding fines of £250m.
Oh, and the expansion zone is many times bigger than the existing zone.
£12.50 a day. All day, every day.
You can get a compliant car for less than that.
Can you? Link please, to car that’s £12.50 a day. Presumably one of these American-style “Buy Here Pay Here” dealerships now has one available?
£12.50/day is £375/month. That's going to buy something reasonable, if not DuraAce-compliant.
The important point is that no deposit and no credit rating needs to be required - a product available for someone on a zero-hours contract, let’s say delivering parcels.
Hang on: you don't mean *no* credit rating. Because the only people with *no* credit rating will be people who have never had a single bill - no electricity, no gas, no council tax, no mobile phone contract.
And most importantly... no car insurance.
Now, sure, these people will exist, but there won't be many of them. (And mostly they will be fresh off the MegaBus.)
What I think you mean is people with poor credit.
The credit rating agencies have zero information on me. It can be done. Albeit it takes some effort.
Oh? So it was unfair of one of us to suggest that Leon was this chap, and you are the better candidate?
I am going to a Prom concert on 4th August. I am driving down on the day and staying in Greenwich. Given the various issues discussed in the current thread what route should I take to get to Greenwich to avoid charges and what is the best way to get from Greenwich to the Albert Hall?
Unfortunately, Greenwich is already inside the ULEZ (since 2021).
Greenwich to Albert Hall? Take the Southeastern mainline trains from Greenwich station to Cannon Street, then District Line to South Kensington. Failing Cannon Street, some trains go to Charing Cross, where Embankment station on the District Line is a 100 yard walk. At South Kensington, there's a nice long airy subway running north towards the Science Museum and Imperial College. The Albert Hall is next door to Imperial.
Don't you mean fortunately? So you can breathe cleaner air?
I’m posting again on the bizarre idea - signed off by the government - to close railway ticket offices.
Apparently all ticket offices at Euston, for example, are to go.
This is the “enshittification” of the railways.
I used to commute regularly to London when in business in the 1990s and never used a ticket office even then
When I lived in London in 1991-5, I used monthly tickets. But I purchased them at the ticket office.
Times and tech have changed since then, though.
One thing I will say though, as an occasional visitor to London: Oyster and tap-in, tap-out are non-intuitive and non-obvious compared to tickets. Great for the frequent user, opaque to someone who rarely frequents the metropolis.
Do you mean that you struggle with tapping in and out at the start of the journey?
Or do you mean that you think that lots of people are utterly stupid?
No. It's a question of knowing that's how you do it (the signage is horrible), and which journeys it can be used on, particularly if your endpoint or startpoint is on the outskirts of London. Is that station included or not? How can I find out?
It's fine for frequent users; for infrequent users it's a case of wtf!
Also, which bankcards can be used: an acquaintance has an American bank card that was not accepted.
There is a non trivial problem with people leaving the London tap in area to arrive at stations where they need a ticket.
Which catches quite a few.
How is that treated atm? It's the sort of thing I get concerned about catching me out.
On the spot penalty fare, I know to my cost from going to Dartford and not realising that while every other stop on the line was inside the oyster zone, Dartford wasn't. Serves me right for going to Dartford I suppose. I sat illegally in 1st class on the way back in order to stick it to the man.
Big G used the internet to buy his season tickets in the 1990s?
OK.
You have misread my post
I did not have a season ticket but I took 18 journeys to London in 2 years and never went near a ticket office
But you said you bought them online, earlier in your reply to me. Thinking back, that wasn't possible in 1993 - I changed jobs and email was barely a thing. 1999?
Edit: it hardly matters when. The basic point was you knew what ticket to buy and where to go. But the ticketing and fares system is still horrendous. It's a ripoff charter to abolish ticket offices.
As I recall I ordered and paid my tickets direct to Virgin Trains
Biut I repeat: you knew which tickets to order, and where to get them. And had the kit to get them.
Indeed but then we are 30 years on and in the age of the internet
Many in my age group worry about parking apps but it is getting impossible not to have to use them
It is not as convenient for some but it is the way the world is going
That's rather too convenient for some. Look at this, and look at the DM reports and the comments there. They are absolutely ballistic.
They are barbarians who dreamt up this policy and should not be let off so lightly.
I’m posting again on the bizarre idea - signed off by the government - to close railway ticket offices.
Apparently all ticket offices at Euston, for example, are to go.
This is the “enshittification” of the railways.
I used to commute regularly to London when in business in the 1990s and never used a ticket office even then
When I lived in London in 1991-5, I used monthly tickets. But I purchased them at the ticket office.
Times and tech have changed since then, though.
One thing I will say though, as an occasional visitor to London: Oyster and tap-in, tap-out are non-intuitive and non-obvious compared to tickets. Great for the frequent user, opaque to someone who rarely frequents the metropolis.
Do you mean that you struggle with tapping in and out at the start of the journey?
Or do you mean that you think that lots of people are utterly stupid?
No. It's a question of knowing that's how you do it (the signage is horrible), and which journeys it can be used on, particularly if your endpoint or startpoint is on the outskirts of London. Is that station included or not? How can I find out?
It's fine for frequent users; for infrequent users it's a case of wtf!
Also, which bankcards can be used: an acquaintance has an American bank card that was not accepted.
There is a non trivial problem with people leaving the London tap in area to arrive at stations where they need a ticket.
Which catches quite a few.
How is that treated atm? It's the sort of thing I get concerned about catching me out.
On the spot penalty fare, I know to my cost from going to Dartford and not realising that while every other stop on the line was inside the oyster zone, Dartford wasn't. Serves me right for going to Dartford I suppose. I sat illegally in 1st class on the way back in order to stick it to the man.
Big G used the internet to buy his season tickets in the 1990s?
OK.
You have misread my post
I did not have a season ticket but I took 18 journeys to London in 2 years and never went near a ticket office
But you said you bought them online, earlier in your reply to me. Thinking back, that wasn't possible in 1993 - I changed jobs and email was barely a thing. 1999?
Edit: it hardly matters when. The basic point was you knew what ticket to buy and where to go. But the ticketing and fares system is still horrendous. It's a ripoff charter to abolish ticket offices.
As I recall I ordered and paid my tickets direct to Virgin Trains
Biut I repeat: you knew which tickets to order, and where to get them. And had the kit to get them.
Indeed but then we are 30 years on and in the age of the internet
Many in my age group worry about parking apps but it is getting impossible not to have to use them
It is not as convenient for some but it is the way the world is going
That's rather too convenient for some. Look at this, and look at the DM reports and the comments there. They are absolutely ballistic.
They are barbarians who dreamt up this policy and should not be let off so lightly.
I am going to a Prom concert on 4th August. I am driving down on the day and staying in Greenwich. Given the various issues discussed in the current thread what route should I take to get to Greenwich to avoid charges and what is the best way to get from Greenwich to the Albert Hall?
Unfortunately, Greenwich is already inside the ULEZ (since 2021).
Greenwich to Albert Hall? Take the Southeastern mainline trains from Greenwich station to Cannon Street, then District Line to South Kensington. Failing Cannon Street, some trains go to Charing Cross, where Embankment station on the District Line is a 100 yard walk. At South Kensington, there's a nice long airy subway running north towards the Science Museum and Imperial College. The Albert Hall is next door to Imperial.
Don't you mean fortunately? So you can breathe cleaner air?
I am going to a Prom concert on 4th August. I am driving down on the day and staying in Greenwich. Given the various issues discussed in the current thread what route should I take to get to Greenwich to avoid charges and what is the best way to get from Greenwich to the Albert Hall?
Unfortunately, Greenwich is already inside the ULEZ (since 2021).
Greenwich to Albert Hall? Take the Southeastern mainline trains from Greenwich station to Cannon Street, then District Line to South Kensington. Failing Cannon Street, some trains go to Charing Cross, where Embankment station on the District Line is a 100 yard walk. At South Kensington, there's a nice long airy subway running north towards the Science Museum and Imperial College. The Albert Hall is next door to Imperial.
Or North Greenwich to Canary Wharf on the Jubilee line (various DLR options available if North Greenwich is too far) and a 5 min walk to Crossrail Place for the Elizabeth Line to Paddington. Then either take the Circle to South Ken, or walk to the Albert Hall (about 20 mins).
Big G used the internet to buy his season tickets in the 1990s?
OK.
You have misread my post
I did not have a season ticket but I took 18 journeys to London in 2 years and never went near a ticket office
But you said you bought them online, earlier in your reply to me. Thinking back, that wasn't possible in 1993 - I changed jobs and email was barely a thing. 1999?
Edit: it hardly matters when. The basic point was you knew what ticket to buy and where to go. But the ticketing and fares system is still horrendous. It's a ripoff charter to abolish ticket offices.
As I recall I ordered and paid my tickets direct to Virgin Trains
Biut I repeat: you knew which tickets to order, and where to get them. And had the kit to get them.
Indeed but then we are 30 years on and in the age of the internet
Many in my age group worry about parking apps but it is getting impossible not to have to use them
It is not as convenient for some but it is the way the world is going
That's rather too convenient for some. Look at this, and look at the DM reports and the comments there. They are absolutely ballistic.
They are barbarians who dreamt up this policy and should not be let off so lightly.
I’m posting again on the bizarre idea - signed off by the government - to close railway ticket offices.
Apparently all ticket offices at Euston, for example, are to go.
This is the “enshittification” of the railways.
I used to commute regularly to London when in business in the 1990s and never used a ticket office even then
When I lived in London in 1991-5, I used monthly tickets. But I purchased them at the ticket office.
Times and tech have changed since then, though.
One thing I will say though, as an occasional visitor to London: Oyster and tap-in, tap-out are non-intuitive and non-obvious compared to tickets. Great for the frequent user, opaque to someone who rarely frequents the metropolis.
Do you mean that you struggle with tapping in and out at the start of the journey?
Or do you mean that you think that lots of people are utterly stupid?
No. It's a question of knowing that's how you do it (the signage is horrible), and which journeys it can be used on, particularly if your endpoint or startpoint is on the outskirts of London. Is that station included or not? How can I find out?
It's fine for frequent users; for infrequent users it's a case of wtf!
Also, which bankcards can be used: an acquaintance has an American bank card that was not accepted.
There is a non trivial problem with people leaving the London tap in area to arrive at stations where they need a ticket.
Which catches quite a few.
How is that treated atm? It's the sort of thing I get concerned about catching me out.
On the spot penalty fare, I know to my cost from going to Dartford and not realising that while every other stop on the line was inside the oyster zone, Dartford wasn't. Serves me right for going to Dartford I suppose. I sat illegally in 1st class on the way back in order to stick it to the man.
Big G used the internet to buy his season tickets in the 1990s?
OK.
You have misread my post
I did not have a season ticket but I took 18 journeys to London in 2 years and never went near a ticket office
But you said you bought them online, earlier in your reply to me. Thinking back, that wasn't possible in 1993 - I changed jobs and email was barely a thing. 1999?
Edit: it hardly matters when. The basic point was you knew what ticket to buy and where to go. But the ticketing and fares system is still horrendous. It's a ripoff charter to abolish ticket offices.
As I recall I ordered and paid my tickets direct to Virgin Trains
Biut I repeat: you knew which tickets to order, and where to get them. And had the kit to get them.
Indeed but then we are 30 years on and in the age of the internet
Many in my age group worry about parking apps but it is getting impossible not to have to use them
It is not as convenient for some but it is the way the world is going
That's rather too convenient for some. Look at this, and look at the DM reports and the comments there. They are absolutely ballistic.
They are barbarians who dreamt up this policy and should not be let off so lightly.
Advising us to read Daily Mail comments, have you gone mad, sir?!
In the manner of visiting the pathology museum at the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh, it is rather gruesome but very revealing.*
*The disseminated melanoma case still has black spots all through the sawn-in-half vertebral column almost 2 centuries later. Slip, slap and slop, girls and boys.
Big G used the internet to buy his season tickets in the 1990s?
OK.
You have misread my post
I did not have a season ticket but I took 18 journeys to London in 2 years and never went near a ticket office
But you said you bought them online, earlier in your reply to me. Thinking back, that wasn't possible in 1993 - I changed jobs and email was barely a thing. 1999?
Edit: it hardly matters when. The basic point was you knew what ticket to buy and where to go. But the ticketing and fares system is still horrendous. It's a ripoff charter to abolish ticket offices.
As I recall I ordered and paid my tickets direct to Virgin Trains
Biut I repeat: you knew which tickets to order, and where to get them. And had the kit to get them.
Indeed but then we are 30 years on and in the age of the internet
Many in my age group worry about parking apps but it is getting impossible not to have to use them
It is not as convenient for some but it is the way the world is going
The government has a responsibility in my view to protect all of us from the the crazy crazy world of train tariffs.
The internet, while being a boon, provides for additional ways for all of us - let alone the most vulnerable - to be totally confused and swindled.
As someone noted above, “suck it up”, doesn’t work for anyone, least of all the Tory target vote.
Big G used the internet to buy his season tickets in the 1990s?
OK.
You have misread my post
I did not have a season ticket but I took 18 journeys to London in 2 years and never went near a ticket office
But you said you bought them online, earlier in your reply to me. Thinking back, that wasn't possible in 1993 - I changed jobs and email was barely a thing. 1999?
Edit: it hardly matters when. The basic point was you knew what ticket to buy and where to go. But the ticketing and fares system is still horrendous. It's a ripoff charter to abolish ticket offices.
As I recall I ordered and paid my tickets direct to Virgin Trains
Biut I repeat: you knew which tickets to order, and where to get them. And had the kit to get them.
Indeed but then we are 30 years on and in the age of the internet
Many in my age group worry about parking apps but it is getting impossible not to have to use them
It is not as convenient for some but it is the way the world is going
That's rather too convenient for some. Look at this, and look at the DM reports and the comments there. They are absolutely ballistic.
They are barbarians who dreamt up this policy and should not be let off so lightly.
I have little doubt they will be closed in due course but if I were to travel by rail I would use Trainline or similar anyway
In other words - you are happy to justify the further deterioration of public services, presumably by way oif support for a non-Labour government, and rely on a website known not to give good value reliably or be propery coordinated with the operators. For instance:
Stavros Demetriades was left similarly confused when he attempted to buy a discounted ticket using his Freedom Pass and Senior Railcard. His discounts weren’t available online or from station ticketing machines, so he needed to go to a ticket office.
However, the office at his local station was closed, and Stavros was told he’d need to travel to the next station to buy his ticket. He was informed that plans are afoot to update online services and ticket machines to accommodate his discounts, but that it would take around three years for the changes to be made."
Add the same problems with the Disabled Railcard and that's a serious breach of equality legislation. And that was published a few months ago.
Just saying “oh well, the world is getting more shit” is probably not the best messaging by the Tories.
I occasionally used the ticket office in the UK to: Figure out the best deal Upgrade to first class Clarify connection times. Buy a ticket when machines are broken Buy tickets for large groups with different needs Get a refund
And I am hardly some elderly drooler with limited digital skills.
Big G used the internet to buy his season tickets in the 1990s?
OK.
You have misread my post
I did not have a season ticket but I took 18 journeys to London in 2 years and never went near a ticket office
But you said you bought them online, earlier in your reply to me. Thinking back, that wasn't possible in 1993 - I changed jobs and email was barely a thing. 1999?
Edit: it hardly matters when. The basic point was you knew what ticket to buy and where to go. But the ticketing and fares system is still horrendous. It's a ripoff charter to abolish ticket offices.
As I recall I ordered and paid my tickets direct to Virgin Trains
Biut I repeat: you knew which tickets to order, and where to get them. And had the kit to get them.
Indeed but then we are 30 years on and in the age of the internet
Many in my age group worry about parking apps but it is getting impossible not to have to use them
It is not as convenient for some but it is the way the world is going
That's rather too convenient for some. Look at this, and look at the DM reports and the comments there. They are absolutely ballistic.
They are barbarians who dreamt up this policy and should not be let off so lightly.
I have little doubt they will be closed in due course but if I were to travel by rail I would use Trainline or similar anyway
In other words - you are happy to justify the further deterioration of public services, presumably by way oif support for a non-Labour government, and rely on a website known not to give good value remiably or be propery coordinated with the operators. For instance:
I would just say I have travelled extensively by train in the UK and also abroad including the Ghan and the Blue Train in South Africa and have not experienced problems you mention in either web sites or any other agency
It is not a political issue for me but as in parking apps so rail will inevitably follow though the unions will resist no doubt
I am going to a Prom concert on 4th August. I am driving down on the day and staying in Greenwich. Given the various issues discussed in the current thread what route should I take to get to Greenwich to avoid charges and what is the best way to get from Greenwich to the Albert Hall?
Unfortunately, Greenwich is already inside the ULEZ (since 2021).
Greenwich to Albert Hall? Take the Southeastern mainline trains from Greenwich station to Cannon Street, then District Line to South Kensington. Failing Cannon Street, some trains go to Charing Cross, where Embankment station on the District Line is a 100 yard walk. At South Kensington, there's a nice long airy subway running north towards the Science Museum and Imperial College. The Albert Hall is next door to Imperial.
Or North Greenwich to Canary Wharf on the Jubilee line (various DLR options available if North Greenwich is too far) and a 5 min walk to Crossrail Place for the Elizabeth Line to Paddington. Then either take the Circle to South Ken, or walk to the Albert Hall (about 20 mins).
Er... Jubilee line North Greenwich to Green Park, Piccadilly Green Park to South Ken is easiest, shirley?
Entirely off-topic but experts on here to consult. I'm going to defect from Windows to Mac. Much as I like the form factor of this Surface Pro 8, it's already showing its age (15 months of heavy use) and Windows 11 is still a pain.
Need to improve and greatly speed up video processing and workflow, want a unit that is robust and lasts a few years. Need to work on the move so that rules out a Mini. Soooo I think a 14" Pro will fit the bill.
A few questions about 10 core vs 12 core processors, or do I go mad and go M2 Max? Budget less of an issue than getting the spec right, don't want to go completely overboard but also a few hundred quid more on various options better to spend up front than end up under-spec. Anyway its a company purchase so true cost is 70% of retail anyway.
M2 Max etc is great. For editing video and other heavy end tasks. Check what the people using your favourite video editing software are saying, online, about the CPU vs GPU loading.
In buying Macs - get lots of memory. Get at least a 2TB hard drive.
For the processor - I go for the option below the absolute max. That last “point” on the spec seems to be super expensive and not worth it.
I have the top of the range 14” M1 Max 32gb but sod all hard disk because I bought it cheap. Reality is I don’t actually need a massive hard disk because everything is kept elsewhere and both clients use VMs for all actual work..
And the thing is it’s a Mac so will the build quality means it will last years so buy on the basis that you will use it for 5 years and get a decent amount of storage,,
Just saying “oh well, the world is getting more shit” is probably not the best messaging by the Tories.
I occasionally used the ticket office in the UK to: Figure out the best deal Upgrade to first class Clarify connection times. Buy a ticket when machines are broken Buy tickets for large groups with different needs Get a refund
And I am hardly some elderly drooler with limited digital skills.
You probably didnt get the best deal anyway. Most just sit in first class and plead ignorance if challenged. No-one should rely on connection times on a network where so many trains are cancelled or delayed.....
I am going to a Prom concert on 4th August. I am driving down on the day and staying in Greenwich. Given the various issues discussed in the current thread what route should I take to get to Greenwich to avoid charges and what is the best way to get from Greenwich to the Albert Hall?
Unfortunately, Greenwich is already inside the ULEZ (since 2021).
Greenwich to Albert Hall? Take the Southeastern mainline trains from Greenwich station to Cannon Street, then District Line to South Kensington. Failing Cannon Street, some trains go to Charing Cross, where Embankment station on the District Line is a 100 yard walk. At South Kensington, there's a nice long airy subway running north towards the Science Museum and Imperial College. The Albert Hall is next door to Imperial.
Or North Greenwich to Canary Wharf on the Jubilee line (various DLR options available if North Greenwich is too far) and a 5 min walk to Crossrail Place for the Elizabeth Line to Paddington. Then either take the Circle to South Ken, or walk to the Albert Hall (about 20 mins).
Er... Jubilee line North Greenwich to Green Park, Piccadilly Green Park to South Ken is easiest, shirley?
Only one change.
No my way is easier (less walking required if you go via Cannon Street) - and no crappy, stuffy deep-level Tube trains.
Just saying “oh well, the world is getting more shit” is probably not the best messaging by the Tories.
I occasionally used the ticket office in the UK to: Figure out the best deal Upgrade to first class Clarify connection times. Buy a ticket when machines are broken Buy tickets for large groups with different needs Get a refund
And I am hardly some elderly drooler with limited digital skills.
You probably didnt get the best deal anyway. Most just sit in first class and plead ignorance if challenged. No-one should rely on connection times on a network where so many trains are cancelled or delayed.....
At least British Rail would hold connections for a reasonable while where possible. Now ...
I am going to a Prom concert on 4th August. I am driving down on the day and staying in Greenwich. Given the various issues discussed in the current thread what route should I take to get to Greenwich to avoid charges and what is the best way to get from Greenwich to the Albert Hall?
Unfortunately, Greenwich is already inside the ULEZ (since 2021).
Greenwich to Albert Hall? Take the Southeastern mainline trains from Greenwich station to Cannon Street, then District Line to South Kensington. Failing Cannon Street, some trains go to Charing Cross, where Embankment station on the District Line is a 100 yard walk. At South Kensington, there's a nice long airy subway running north towards the Science Museum and Imperial College. The Albert Hall is next door to Imperial.
Or North Greenwich to Canary Wharf on the Jubilee line (various DLR options available if North Greenwich is too far) and a 5 min walk to Crossrail Place for the Elizabeth Line to Paddington. Then either take the Circle to South Ken, or walk to the Albert Hall (about 20 mins).
Er... Jubilee line North Greenwich to Green Park, Piccadilly Green Park to South Ken is easiest, shirley?
Only one change.
Perhaps, but any excuse to use the Elizabeth Line (which is just more pleasant than the Piccadilly Line).
Big G used the internet to buy his season tickets in the 1990s?
OK.
You have misread my post
I did not have a season ticket but I took 18 journeys to London in 2 years and never went near a ticket office
But you said you bought them online, earlier in your reply to me. Thinking back, that wasn't possible in 1993 - I changed jobs and email was barely a thing. 1999?
Edit: it hardly matters when. The basic point was you knew what ticket to buy and where to go. But the ticketing and fares system is still horrendous. It's a ripoff charter to abolish ticket offices.
As I recall I ordered and paid my tickets direct to Virgin Trains
Biut I repeat: you knew which tickets to order, and where to get them. And had the kit to get them.
Indeed but then we are 30 years on and in the age of the internet
Many in my age group worry about parking apps but it is getting impossible not to have to use them
It is not as convenient for some but it is the way the world is going
That's rather too convenient for some. Look at this, and look at the DM reports and the comments there. They are absolutely ballistic.
They are barbarians who dreamt up this policy and should not be let off so lightly.
I have little doubt they will be closed in due course but if I were to travel by rail I would use Trainline or similar anyway
In other words - you are happy to justify the further deterioration of public services, presumably by way oif support for a non-Labour government, and rely on a website known not to give good value remiably or be propery coordinated with the operators. For instance:
I would just say I have travelled extensively by train in the UK and also abroad including the Ghan and the Blue Train in South Africa and have not experienced problems you mention in either web sites or any other agency
It is not a political issue for me but as in parking apps so rail will inevitably follow though the unions will resist no doubt
The Ghan and the Blue Train are not relevant. Tourist one-off trains, wrong countries ...
As for the rest, you have been either very lucky or very unaware.
I am going to a Prom concert on 4th August. I am driving down on the day and staying in Greenwich. Given the various issues discussed in the current thread what route should I take to get to Greenwich to avoid charges and what is the best way to get from Greenwich to the Albert Hall?
Unfortunately, Greenwich is already inside the ULEZ (since 2021).
Greenwich to Albert Hall? Take the Southeastern mainline trains from Greenwich station to Cannon Street, then District Line to South Kensington. Failing Cannon Street, some trains go to Charing Cross, where Embankment station on the District Line is a 100 yard walk. At South Kensington, there's a nice long airy subway running north towards the Science Museum and Imperial College. The Albert Hall is next door to Imperial.
Or North Greenwich to Canary Wharf on the Jubilee line (various DLR options available if North Greenwich is too far) and a 5 min walk to Crossrail Place for the Elizabeth Line to Paddington. Then either take the Circle to South Ken, or walk to the Albert Hall (about 20 mins).
Er... Jubilee line North Greenwich to Green Park, Piccadilly Green Park to South Ken is easiest, shirley?
Only one change.
Perhaps, but any excuse to use the Elizabeth Line (which is just more pleasant than the Piccadilly Line).
There is surely something in that. Indeed I've done it myself. You've got yowling, or unhappy, or snappish kids in the car, you just want them to shut up and eat SOMETHING, and there is McDonalds. And it is cheap, and convenient, and you don't have to persuade them to try whelks
It doesn't explain, however, why so many middle class adult Americans are so obscenely FAT. I know the Brits are bad, but Midwest America, wow. Something has gone very wrong in their food culture
I am going to a Prom concert on 4th August. I am driving down on the day and staying in Greenwich. Given the various issues discussed in the current thread what route should I take to get to Greenwich to avoid charges and what is the best way to get from Greenwich to the Albert Hall?
Unfortunately, Greenwich is already inside the ULEZ (since 2021).
Greenwich to Albert Hall? Take the Southeastern mainline trains from Greenwich station to Cannon Street, then District Line to South Kensington. Failing Cannon Street, some trains go to Charing Cross, where Embankment station on the District Line is a 100 yard walk. At South Kensington, there's a nice long airy subway running north towards the Science Museum and Imperial College. The Albert Hall is next door to Imperial.
Or North Greenwich to Canary Wharf on the Jubilee line (various DLR options available if North Greenwich is too far) and a 5 min walk to Crossrail Place for the Elizabeth Line to Paddington. Then either take the Circle to South Ken, or walk to the Albert Hall (about 20 mins).
Er... Jubilee line North Greenwich to Green Park, Piccadilly Green Park to South Ken is easiest, shirley?
Only one change.
I wouldn't question the expertise of @Sunil_Prasannan on this issue!
Big G used the internet to buy his season tickets in the 1990s?
OK.
You have misread my post
I did not have a season ticket but I took 18 journeys to London in 2 years and never went near a ticket office
But you said you bought them online, earlier in your reply to me. Thinking back, that wasn't possible in 1993 - I changed jobs and email was barely a thing. 1999?
Edit: it hardly matters when. The basic point was you knew what ticket to buy and where to go. But the ticketing and fares system is still horrendous. It's a ripoff charter to abolish ticket offices.
As I recall I ordered and paid my tickets direct to Virgin Trains
Biut I repeat: you knew which tickets to order, and where to get them. And had the kit to get them.
Indeed but then we are 30 years on and in the age of the internet
Many in my age group worry about parking apps but it is getting impossible not to have to use them
It is not as convenient for some but it is the way the world is going
That's rather too convenient for some. Look at this, and look at the DM reports and the comments there. They are absolutely ballistic.
They are barbarians who dreamt up this policy and should not be let off so lightly.
I have little doubt they will be closed in due course but if I were to travel by rail I would use Trainline or similar anyway
In other words - you are happy to justify the further deterioration of public services, presumably by way oif support for a non-Labour government, and rely on a website known not to give good value remiably or be propery coordinated with the operators. For instance:
I would just say I have travelled extensively by train in the UK and also abroad including the Ghan and the Blue Train in South Africa and have not experienced problems you mention in either web sites or any other agency
It is not a political issue for me but as in parking apps so rail will inevitably follow though the unions will resist no doubt
Parking apps is an obvious area where the state should just sanction one app - have competitive a 5 year franchise by all means but one app nationwide.
Big G used the internet to buy his season tickets in the 1990s?
OK.
You have misread my post
I did not have a season ticket but I took 18 journeys to London in 2 years and never went near a ticket office
But you said you bought them online, earlier in your reply to me. Thinking back, that wasn't possible in 1993 - I changed jobs and email was barely a thing. 1999?
Edit: it hardly matters when. The basic point was you knew what ticket to buy and where to go. But the ticketing and fares system is still horrendous. It's a ripoff charter to abolish ticket offices.
As I recall I ordered and paid my tickets direct to Virgin Trains
Biut I repeat: you knew which tickets to order, and where to get them. And had the kit to get them.
Indeed but then we are 30 years on and in the age of the internet
Many in my age group worry about parking apps but it is getting impossible not to have to use them
It is not as convenient for some but it is the way the world is going
That's rather too convenient for some. Look at this, and look at the DM reports and the comments there. They are absolutely ballistic.
They are barbarians who dreamt up this policy and should not be let off so lightly.
I have little doubt they will be closed in due course but if I were to travel by rail I would use Trainline or similar anyway
In other words - you are happy to justify the further deterioration of public services, presumably by way oif support for a non-Labour government, and rely on a website known not to give good value remiably or be propery coordinated with the operators. For instance:
I would just say I have travelled extensively by train in the UK and also abroad including the Ghan and the Blue Train in South Africa and have not experienced problems you mention in either web sites or any other agency
It is not a political issue for me but as in parking apps so rail will inevitably follow though the unions will resist no doubt
The Ghan and the Blue Train are not relevant. Tourist one-off trains, wrong countries ...
As for the rest, you have been either very lucky or very unaware.
I have been neither
I ran my own businesses over decades and was very aware and indeed switched on
I am going to a Prom concert on 4th August. I am driving down on the day and staying in Greenwich. Given the various issues discussed in the current thread what route should I take to get to Greenwich to avoid charges and what is the best way to get from Greenwich to the Albert Hall?
Unfortunately, Greenwich is already inside the ULEZ (since 2021).
Greenwich to Albert Hall? Take the Southeastern mainline trains from Greenwich station to Cannon Street, then District Line to South Kensington. Failing Cannon Street, some trains go to Charing Cross, where Embankment station on the District Line is a 100 yard walk. At South Kensington, there's a nice long airy subway running north towards the Science Museum and Imperial College. The Albert Hall is next door to Imperial.
Or North Greenwich to Canary Wharf on the Jubilee line (various DLR options available if North Greenwich is too far) and a 5 min walk to Crossrail Place for the Elizabeth Line to Paddington. Then either take the Circle to South Ken, or walk to the Albert Hall (about 20 mins).
Er... Jubilee line North Greenwich to Green Park, Piccadilly Green Park to South Ken is easiest, shirley?
Only one change.
Perhaps, but any excuse to use the Elizabeth Line (which is just more pleasant than the Piccadilly Line).
Take the river uber boat to Cadogan Pier and walk.
Entirely off-topic but experts on here to consult. I'm going to defect from Windows to Mac. Much as I like the form factor of this Surface Pro 8, it's already showing its age (15 months of heavy use) and Windows 11 is still a pain.
Need to improve and greatly speed up video processing and workflow, want a unit that is robust and lasts a few years. Need to work on the move so that rules out a Mini. Soooo I think a 14" Pro will fit the bill.
A few questions about 10 core vs 12 core processors, or do I go mad and go M2 Max? Budget less of an issue than getting the spec right, don't want to go completely overboard but also a few hundred quid more on various options better to spend up front than end up under-spec. Anyway its a company purchase so true cost is 70% of retail anyway.
M2 Max etc is great. For editing video and other heavy end tasks. Check what the people using your favourite video editing software are saying, online, about the CPU vs GPU loading.
In buying Macs - get lots of memory. Get at least a 2TB hard drive.
For the processor - I go for the option below the absolute max. That last “point” on the spec seems to be super expensive and not worth it.
I have the top of the range 14” M1 Max 32gb but sod all hard disk because I bought it cheap. Reality is I don’t actually need a massive hard disk because everything is kept elsewhere and both clients use VMs for all actual work..
And the thing is it’s a Mac so will the build quality means it will last years so buy on the basis that you will use it for 5 years and get a decent amount of storage,,
He mentioned video and working on the move - hence lots of storage on the HD…
Yes, of course, the Industrial Revolution actually started in West Africa, went to Jamaica, via slaves, then evil Britons stole it away, and started their foundries in Coalbrookdale
I am going to a Prom concert on 4th August. I am driving down on the day and staying in Greenwich. Given the various issues discussed in the current thread what route should I take to get to Greenwich to avoid charges and what is the best way to get from Greenwich to the Albert Hall?
Unfortunately, Greenwich is already inside the ULEZ (since 2021).
Greenwich to Albert Hall? Take the Southeastern mainline trains from Greenwich station to Cannon Street, then District Line to South Kensington. Failing Cannon Street, some trains go to Charing Cross, where Embankment station on the District Line is a 100 yard walk. At South Kensington, there's a nice long airy subway running north towards the Science Museum and Imperial College. The Albert Hall is next door to Imperial.
Or North Greenwich to Canary Wharf on the Jubilee line (various DLR options available if North Greenwich is too far) and a 5 min walk to Crossrail Place for the Elizabeth Line to Paddington. Then either take the Circle to South Ken, or walk to the Albert Hall (about 20 mins).
Er... Jubilee line North Greenwich to Green Park, Piccadilly Green Park to South Ken is easiest, shirley?
Only one change.
Perhaps, but any excuse to use the Elizabeth Line (which is just more pleasant than the Piccadilly Line).
Take the river uber boat to Cadogan Pier and walk.
Best avoided during peak tourist times though. And is twice the price.
Big G used the internet to buy his season tickets in the 1990s?
OK.
You have misread my post
I did not have a season ticket but I took 18 journeys to London in 2 years and never went near a ticket office
But you said you bought them online, earlier in your reply to me. Thinking back, that wasn't possible in 1993 - I changed jobs and email was barely a thing. 1999?
Edit: it hardly matters when. The basic point was you knew what ticket to buy and where to go. But the ticketing and fares system is still horrendous. It's a ripoff charter to abolish ticket offices.
As I recall I ordered and paid my tickets direct to Virgin Trains
Biut I repeat: you knew which tickets to order, and where to get them. And had the kit to get them.
Indeed but then we are 30 years on and in the age of the internet
Many in my age group worry about parking apps but it is getting impossible not to have to use them
It is not as convenient for some but it is the way the world is going
That's rather too convenient for some. Look at this, and look at the DM reports and the comments there. They are absolutely ballistic.
They are barbarians who dreamt up this policy and should not be let off so lightly.
I have little doubt they will be closed in due course but if I were to travel by rail I would use Trainline or similar anyway
In other words - you are happy to justify the further deterioration of public services, presumably by way oif support for a non-Labour government, and rely on a website known not to give good value remiably or be propery coordinated with the operators. For instance:
I would just say I have travelled extensively by train in the UK and also abroad including the Ghan and the Blue Train in South Africa and have not experienced problems you mention in either web sites or any other agency
It is not a political issue for me but as in parking apps so rail will inevitably follow though the unions will resist no doubt
Parking apps is an obvious area where the state should just sanction one app - have competitive a 5 year franchise by all means but one app nationwide.
Yet some of us are happy for the current shambles of train ticketing to continue and be worsened by the closure of ticket offices. At least with a parking app, if it falls over one can go and park somewhere else.
Hundreds of millions in Ulez fines are going unpaid as drivers “revolt” over the controversial charge, casting doubt over its expansion.
Penalty charge notices relating Sadiq Khan’s Ultra-Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) worth £255m were outstanding at the end of last year, The Telegraph can reveal.
The Mayor of London’s flagship net zero scheme was owed more money from drivers in unpaid fines than it made during the financial year from 2022 to 2023, figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act showed.
@RochdalePioneers was irritated and angry this morning that anyone should have the temerity to complain and anyway it only affected a handful of cars
Seems it is affecting a large number of ordinary folks who are either unable to pay or won't pay
Unlike you to sanction lawbreaking BigG.
I am not sanctioning anything but it is clear the fines are not being collected
What Khan and Labour are doing with this clunking fist policy, is bringing the fist down on some of the poorer people in our society. Rather than helping them, where they really can’t help themselves, they are bullying them instead and then prancing around like they are so wonderful and can do no wrong.
Jesus Christ. Most poor people in London don't have a car. Poor people in London are far more likely to live in areas with high air pollution. There is a scrappage scheme to help poor drivers who are affected. I've seen my daughter hospitalised with asthma twice. Thank God somebody is dealing with this issue.
My argument being, maybe a policy not just popular in central London, but does an awful lot of good there, doesn’t do such great amounts of good everywhere, like Hemingford Grey, so is hated where it doesn’t. So expansion and extension of a policy that is “great and and popular here so must be marvellous for everyone” is actually wrong political thinking bordering on socialism. Can you not agree with that point?
I seem to recall the same argument being used about the Poll Tax. It was popular and worked well in Wandsworth so it would be popular and work well everywhere?
That was basically Thatcherite socialism by your definition.
now you are deliberately taking this down a rabbit hole, a sure sign of losing the argument. I’m not a poll tax supporter. it was obviously before my time, but I see nothing wrong with progressive taxation like current council tax to part fund local democracy, and no reason to switch to poll tax to replace it.
But surely it must be true, more need for a car use, less need for ULEZ scheme, the more it extends out of inner cities into rural area’s. A one size fits all approach has got to be the wrong policy, hence my reference to the socialist eastern bloc approach socialist Khan and Labour are using here.
Not losing the argument, trying to educate a little.
The ULEZ scheme is nothing to do with the number of cars but the type of cars - its aim is to take off the road older vehicles with greater emissions. I do accept the need for a more thoughtful introduction of this policy in more car-dependent areas but no one is proposing it be extended nationally or even to all but the largest towns and cities.
I'd also make the more asinine point we all breathe the same air - having cleaner air in our towns and cities means better air elsewhere. ULEZ is also about public health - reducing asthma and other respiratory conditions perhaps reducing the need for hospital treatment and care thus allowing the diversion of valuable NHS resources to other areas of need.
“I do accept the need for a more thoughtful introduction of this policy in more car-dependent areas”.
See - a concession. “You are of course right, Rabbit” in other words.
I’ll build on this win and go further. It’s clear from the Cambridge election, where like in Uxbridge Ulez is 100% unpopular and a vote loser, also in Uxbridge as HY says the excited Hindu vote is 100% behind Sunak - Starmer and Labour could not only be on course for an awful lot of egg of their face, a sea change in the momentum of UK politics this general election run in, but where the mainstream media in retrospect try to analysis and explain it, we can actually tell them tonight why Labour failed to take Uxbridge despite national polls saying it is going to be easy. As you put it yourself, there just isn’t a more thoughtful or consensual introduction of Labour policy going on, is there.
And you can’t come back with “Labour arn’t actually in power so what on earth are you babbling on about” (or much shorter and ruder way Gardenwalker has of saying this same thing) because of the reason Ranen Ganesh knows Labour won’t be winning a majority at election, people are going to start saying “what’s it going to be like living under a Labour government, what’s it going to be like for me” where living under Khan and the roll out of his policies in Uxbridge is a perfect example of what Ganesh said would happen as judgement day draws closer, isn’t it?
I am going to a Prom concert on 4th August. I am driving down on the day and staying in Greenwich. Given the various issues discussed in the current thread what route should I take to get to Greenwich to avoid charges and what is the best way to get from Greenwich to the Albert Hall?
Unfortunately, Greenwich is already inside the ULEZ (since 2021).
Greenwich to Albert Hall? Take the Southeastern mainline trains from Greenwich station to Cannon Street, then District Line to South Kensington. Failing Cannon Street, some trains go to Charing Cross, where Embankment station on the District Line is a 100 yard walk. At South Kensington, there's a nice long airy subway running north towards the Science Museum and Imperial College. The Albert Hall is next door to Imperial.
Or North Greenwich to Canary Wharf on the Jubilee line (various DLR options available if North Greenwich is too far) and a 5 min walk to Crossrail Place for the Elizabeth Line to Paddington. Then either take the Circle to South Ken, or walk to the Albert Hall (about 20 mins).
Er... Jubilee line North Greenwich to Green Park, Piccadilly Green Park to South Ken is easiest, shirley?
Only one change.
Perhaps, but any excuse to use the Elizabeth Line (which is just more pleasant than the Piccadilly Line).
Take the river uber boat to Cadogan Pier and walk.
Best avoided during peak tourist times though. And is twice the price.
Five times as pleasant. And its a London day trip. Enjoy the sights!
Big G used the internet to buy his season tickets in the 1990s?
OK.
You have misread my post
I did not have a season ticket but I took 18 journeys to London in 2 years and never went near a ticket office
But you said you bought them online, earlier in your reply to me. Thinking back, that wasn't possible in 1993 - I changed jobs and email was barely a thing. 1999?
Edit: it hardly matters when. The basic point was you knew what ticket to buy and where to go. But the ticketing and fares system is still horrendous. It's a ripoff charter to abolish ticket offices.
As I recall I ordered and paid my tickets direct to Virgin Trains
Biut I repeat: you knew which tickets to order, and where to get them. And had the kit to get them.
Indeed but then we are 30 years on and in the age of the internet
Many in my age group worry about parking apps but it is getting impossible not to have to use them
It is not as convenient for some but it is the way the world is going
That's rather too convenient for some. Look at this, and look at the DM reports and the comments there. They are absolutely ballistic.
They are barbarians who dreamt up this policy and should not be let off so lightly.
I have little doubt they will be closed in due course but if I were to travel by rail I would use Trainline or similar anyway
In other words - you are happy to justify the further deterioration of public services, presumably by way oif support for a non-Labour government, and rely on a website known not to give good value remiably or be propery coordinated with the operators. For instance:
I would just say I have travelled extensively by train in the UK and also abroad including the Ghan and the Blue Train in South Africa and have not experienced problems you mention in either web sites or any other agency
It is not a political issue for me but as in parking apps so rail will inevitably follow though the unions will resist no doubt
Parking apps is an obvious area where the state should just sanction one app - have competitive a 5 year franchise by all means but one app nationwide.
What advantage would having 1 app nationwide bring?
Not having to have 38 different apps on one's phone
Big G used the internet to buy his season tickets in the 1990s?
OK.
You have misread my post
I did not have a season ticket but I took 18 journeys to London in 2 years and never went near a ticket office
But you said you bought them online, earlier in your reply to me. Thinking back, that wasn't possible in 1993 - I changed jobs and email was barely a thing. 1999?
Edit: it hardly matters when. The basic point was you knew what ticket to buy and where to go. But the ticketing and fares system is still horrendous. It's a ripoff charter to abolish ticket offices.
As I recall I ordered and paid my tickets direct to Virgin Trains
Biut I repeat: you knew which tickets to order, and where to get them. And had the kit to get them.
Indeed but then we are 30 years on and in the age of the internet
Many in my age group worry about parking apps but it is getting impossible not to have to use them
It is not as convenient for some but it is the way the world is going
That's rather too convenient for some. Look at this, and look at the DM reports and the comments there. They are absolutely ballistic.
They are barbarians who dreamt up this policy and should not be let off so lightly.
I have little doubt they will be closed in due course but if I were to travel by rail I would use Trainline or similar anyway
In other words - you are happy to justify the further deterioration of public services, presumably by way oif support for a non-Labour government, and rely on a website known not to give good value remiably or be propery coordinated with the operators. For instance:
I would just say I have travelled extensively by train in the UK and also abroad including the Ghan and the Blue Train in South Africa and have not experienced problems you mention in either web sites or any other agency
It is not a political issue for me but as in parking apps so rail will inevitably follow though the unions will resist no doubt
Parking apps is an obvious area where the state should just sanction one app - have competitive a 5 year franchise by all means but one app nationwide.
Agree.
The government should be a consumer champion. Life is better without the petty hassle of trying to figure out what app to download, in an area of poor connectivity, and then struggling through piss-poor UX.
Yes, of course, the Industrial Revolution actually started in West Africa, went to Jamaica, via slaves, then evil Britons stole it away, and started their foundries in Coalbrookdale
The original paper is much more restricted than youre summary. It's about one specific process at one particular time. It is also on open access in toto.
Entirely off-topic but experts on here to consult. I'm going to defect from Windows to Mac. Much as I like the form factor of this Surface Pro 8, it's already showing its age (15 months of heavy use) and Windows 11 is still a pain.
Need to improve and greatly speed up video processing and workflow, want a unit that is robust and lasts a few years. Need to work on the move so that rules out a Mini. Soooo I think a 14" Pro will fit the bill.
A few questions about 10 core vs 12 core processors, or do I go mad and go M2 Max? Budget less of an issue than getting the spec right, don't want to go completely overboard but also a few hundred quid more on various options better to spend up front than end up under-spec. Anyway its a company purchase so true cost is 70% of retail anyway.
M2 Max etc is great. For editing video and other heavy end tasks. Check what the people using your favourite video editing software are saying, online, about the CPU vs GPU loading.
In buying Macs - get lots of memory. Get at least a 2TB hard drive.
For the processor - I go for the option below the absolute max. That last “point” on the spec seems to be super expensive and not worth it.
I have the top of the range 14” M1 Max 32gb but sod all hard disk because I bought it cheap. Reality is I don’t actually need a massive hard disk because everything is kept elsewhere and both clients use VMs for all actual work..
And the thing is it’s a Mac so will the build quality means it will last years so buy on the basis that you will use it for 5 years and get a decent amount of storage,,
Have been playing with specs. Want 12 core not 10 core. Think 1TB sensible even though will use cloud storage as well. Can buy a 12 core Max with 32GB and 1TB drive for £3k. Which after VAT and CTax deducted is £2,100. Or £49 less than the cash price if I was buying personally and walked into an Apple store...
Big G used the internet to buy his season tickets in the 1990s?
OK.
You have misread my post
I did not have a season ticket but I took 18 journeys to London in 2 years and never went near a ticket office
But you said you bought them online, earlier in your reply to me. Thinking back, that wasn't possible in 1993 - I changed jobs and email was barely a thing. 1999?
Edit: it hardly matters when. The basic point was you knew what ticket to buy and where to go. But the ticketing and fares system is still horrendous. It's a ripoff charter to abolish ticket offices.
As I recall I ordered and paid my tickets direct to Virgin Trains
Biut I repeat: you knew which tickets to order, and where to get them. And had the kit to get them.
Indeed but then we are 30 years on and in the age of the internet
Many in my age group worry about parking apps but it is getting impossible not to have to use them
It is not as convenient for some but it is the way the world is going
That's rather too convenient for some. Look at this, and look at the DM reports and the comments there. They are absolutely ballistic.
They are barbarians who dreamt up this policy and should not be let off so lightly.
I have little doubt they will be closed in due course but if I were to travel by rail I would use Trainline or similar anyway
In other words - you are happy to justify the further deterioration of public services, presumably by way oif support for a non-Labour government, and rely on a website known not to give good value remiably or be propery coordinated with the operators. For instance:
I would just say I have travelled extensively by train in the UK and also abroad including the Ghan and the Blue Train in South Africa and have not experienced problems you mention in either web sites or any other agency
It is not a political issue for me but as in parking apps so rail will inevitably follow though the unions will resist no doubt
Parking apps is an obvious area where the state should just sanction one app - have competitive a 5 year franchise by all means but one app nationwide.
Yet some of us are happy for the current shambles of train ticketing to continue and be worsened by the closure of ticket offices. At least with a parking app, if it falls over one can go and park somewhere else.
Not if all the local authority car parks and meters require payments by app
Yes, of course, the Industrial Revolution actually started in West Africa, went to Jamaica, via slaves, then evil Britons stole it away, and started their foundries in Coalbrookdale
Why quack?
It seems to be based on historical research and documents.
Yes, of course, the Industrial Revolution actually started in West Africa, went to Jamaica, via slaves, then evil Britons stole it away, and started their foundries in Coalbrookdale
It's probably bollocks but bigger picture-wise, the industrial revolution was probably largely inspired by slavery. People woke up to what unlimited cheap or free power could get you.
Big G used the internet to buy his season tickets in the 1990s?
OK.
You have misread my post
I did not have a season ticket but I took 18 journeys to London in 2 years and never went near a ticket office
But you said you bought them online, earlier in your reply to me. Thinking back, that wasn't possible in 1993 - I changed jobs and email was barely a thing. 1999?
Edit: it hardly matters when. The basic point was you knew what ticket to buy and where to go. But the ticketing and fares system is still horrendous. It's a ripoff charter to abolish ticket offices.
As I recall I ordered and paid my tickets direct to Virgin Trains
Biut I repeat: you knew which tickets to order, and where to get them. And had the kit to get them.
Indeed but then we are 30 years on and in the age of the internet
Many in my age group worry about parking apps but it is getting impossible not to have to use them
It is not as convenient for some but it is the way the world is going
That's rather too convenient for some. Look at this, and look at the DM reports and the comments there. They are absolutely ballistic.
They are barbarians who dreamt up this policy and should not be let off so lightly.
This is a strange choice of policy - it is really an operational issue for the railways, but it could become explosively political as it seems to discriminate against pensioners and just upsets a load of other people. It is odd that the government have allowed it to happen.
They should have sorted out the ticketing system, so you can buy your tickets on an app etc and just have a barcode, and then quietly closed down the ticket offices. This is still some way off on large parts of the network.
Big G used the internet to buy his season tickets in the 1990s?
OK.
You have misread my post
I did not have a season ticket but I took 18 journeys to London in 2 years and never went near a ticket office
But you said you bought them online, earlier in your reply to me. Thinking back, that wasn't possible in 1993 - I changed jobs and email was barely a thing. 1999?
Edit: it hardly matters when. The basic point was you knew what ticket to buy and where to go. But the ticketing and fares system is still horrendous. It's a ripoff charter to abolish ticket offices.
As I recall I ordered and paid my tickets direct to Virgin Trains
Biut I repeat: you knew which tickets to order, and where to get them. And had the kit to get them.
Indeed but then we are 30 years on and in the age of the internet
Many in my age group worry about parking apps but it is getting impossible not to have to use them
It is not as convenient for some but it is the way the world is going
That's rather too convenient for some. Look at this, and look at the DM reports and the comments there. They are absolutely ballistic.
They are barbarians who dreamt up this policy and should not be let off so lightly.
I have little doubt they will be closed in due course but if I were to travel by rail I would use Trainline or similar anyway
In other words - you are happy to justify the further deterioration of public services, presumably by way oif support for a non-Labour government, and rely on a website known not to give good value remiably or be propery coordinated with the operators. For instance:
I would just say I have travelled extensively by train in the UK and also abroad including the Ghan and the Blue Train in South Africa and have not experienced problems you mention in either web sites or any other agency
It is not a political issue for me but as in parking apps so rail will inevitably follow though the unions will resist no doubt
Parking apps is an obvious area where the state should just sanction one app - have competitive a 5 year franchise by all means but one app nationwide.
What advantage would having 1 app nationwide bring?
I wouldn't turn up at a car park which uses an app new to me and try and fail to download it due to mobile coverage (happens a lot in rural towns). Plus the sheer waste of fucking time if I can actually get a connection: download a new app, register my details to yet another company I've never heard of before. Pisses me off a lot!
Someone needs to invent a “faffometer”. How much faff, or conversely, how little faff, is involved in everyday tasks?
Faff is a pain. It degrades quality of life.
Faff seems to multiply in more densely-populated places because there is more resource contestation and systems designed to manage that are usually faffy.
America often surprises on the faffy (litigious) and the non-faffy (car parking).
Britain is quite faffy. Japan and Germany and Swiss seem less faffy. Italy can be very faffy.
It should be government’s mission to remove faff. Faff is generally a kind of tax on the poor.
Yes, of course, the Industrial Revolution actually started in West Africa, went to Jamaica, via slaves, then evil Britons stole it away, and started their foundries in Coalbrookdale
Why quack?
It seems to be based on historical research and documents.
West Africans didn't even have the fucking wheel til it was given to them in the mid 19th century. Yet they mastered one of the crucial processes of the Industrial Revolution? Which was then "stolen" by the Evil White Imperialist Slaving Britons?
Big G used the internet to buy his season tickets in the 1990s?
OK.
You have misread my post
I did not have a season ticket but I took 18 journeys to London in 2 years and never went near a ticket office
But you said you bought them online, earlier in your reply to me. Thinking back, that wasn't possible in 1993 - I changed jobs and email was barely a thing. 1999?
Edit: it hardly matters when. The basic point was you knew what ticket to buy and where to go. But the ticketing and fares system is still horrendous. It's a ripoff charter to abolish ticket offices.
As I recall I ordered and paid my tickets direct to Virgin Trains
Biut I repeat: you knew which tickets to order, and where to get them. And had the kit to get them.
Indeed but then we are 30 years on and in the age of the internet
Many in my age group worry about parking apps but it is getting impossible not to have to use them
It is not as convenient for some but it is the way the world is going
That's rather too convenient for some. Look at this, and look at the DM reports and the comments there. They are absolutely ballistic.
They are barbarians who dreamt up this policy and should not be let off so lightly.
I have little doubt they will be closed in due course but if I were to travel by rail I would use Trainline or similar anyway
In other words - you are happy to justify the further deterioration of public services, presumably by way oif support for a non-Labour government, and rely on a website known not to give good value remiably or be propery coordinated with the operators. For instance:
I would just say I have travelled extensively by train in the UK and also abroad including the Ghan and the Blue Train in South Africa and have not experienced problems you mention in either web sites or any other agency
It is not a political issue for me but as in parking apps so rail will inevitably follow though the unions will resist no doubt
Parking apps is an obvious area where the state should just sanction one app - have competitive a 5 year franchise by all means but one app nationwide.
What advantage would having 1 app nationwide bring?
I wouldn't turn up at a car park which uses an app new to me and try and fail to download it due to mobile coverage (happens a lot in rural towns). Plus the sheer waste of fucking time if I can actually get a connection: download a new app, register my details to yet another company I've never heard of before. Pisses me off a lot!
Wow! We’ve already had a Primeminister slain by a lettuce, now Mickey Mouse thinks he’s hard enough to take on “Whitewash” Jenrick. Who’s going to win this one?
This is a strange choice of policy - it is really an operational issue for the railways, but it could become explosively political as it seems to discriminate against pensioners and just upsets a load of other people. It is odd that the government have allowed it to happen.
They should have sorted out the ticketing system, so you can buy your tickets on an app etc and just have a barcode, and then quietly closed down the ticket offices. This is still some way off on large parts of the network.
Yes, that was the seat61 view -- sort out ticketing first so it's a simpler system which means less need to ask for help at a ticket office, and *then* reduce ticket office provision.
Apparently because the train operating companies now provide the service at cost-plus-2%-management-fee, it's not in their interests particularly to try to pare down costs like this -- but it is in the DfT's interest...
Big G used the internet to buy his season tickets in the 1990s?
OK.
You have misread my post
I did not have a season ticket but I took 18 journeys to London in 2 years and never went near a ticket office
But you said you bought them online, earlier in your reply to me. Thinking back, that wasn't possible in 1993 - I changed jobs and email was barely a thing. 1999?
Edit: it hardly matters when. The basic point was you knew what ticket to buy and where to go. But the ticketing and fares system is still horrendous. It's a ripoff charter to abolish ticket offices.
As I recall I ordered and paid my tickets direct to Virgin Trains
Biut I repeat: you knew which tickets to order, and where to get them. And had the kit to get them.
Indeed but then we are 30 years on and in the age of the internet
Many in my age group worry about parking apps but it is getting impossible not to have to use them
It is not as convenient for some but it is the way the world is going
That's rather too convenient for some. Look at this, and look at the DM reports and the comments there. They are absolutely ballistic.
They are barbarians who dreamt up this policy and should not be let off so lightly.
I have little doubt they will be closed in due course but if I were to travel by rail I would use Trainline or similar anyway
In other words - you are happy to justify the further deterioration of public services, presumably by way oif support for a non-Labour government, and rely on a website known not to give good value remiably or be propery coordinated with the operators. For instance:
I would just say I have travelled extensively by train in the UK and also abroad including the Ghan and the Blue Train in South Africa and have not experienced problems you mention in either web sites or any other agency
It is not a political issue for me but as in parking apps so rail will inevitably follow though the unions will resist no doubt
Parking apps is an obvious area where the state should just sanction one app - have competitive a 5 year franchise by all means but one app nationwide.
What advantage would having 1 app nationwide bring?
Not having to have 38 different apps on one's phone
See, you don't have 38 parking apps on your phone
I've just checked - I've got 5 parking apps, 4 of which are out of date and will need a download next time I happen to park at a carpark that needs that app. It's painful. And pointless.
Yes, of course, the Industrial Revolution actually started in West Africa, went to Jamaica, via slaves, then evil Britons stole it away, and started their foundries in Coalbrookdale
Why quack?
It seems to be based on historical research and documents.
West Africans didn't even have the fucking wheel til it was given to them in the mid 19th century. Yet they mastered one of the crucial processes of the Industrial Revolution? Which was then "stolen" by the Evil White Imperialist Slaving Britons?
We are entering the era of post-Scientific Truth, let alone post-Truth
You don't need a wheel to smelt iron, and the article explained it via the adaption of sugar cane rollers.
There was extensive metal working in West Africa, indeed it was access to West African gold that the Europeans originally wanted from their trade, only later moving to the sugar and slave industrial model.
Wow! We’ve already had a Primeminister slain by a lettuce, now Mickey Mouse thinks he’s hard enough to take on “Whitewash” Jenrick. Who’s going to win this one?
The home office staff are absolutely correct - Jenrick is out of order 100%
Yes, of course, the Industrial Revolution actually started in West Africa, went to Jamaica, via slaves, then evil Britons stole it away, and started their foundries in Coalbrookdale
It's probably bollocks but bigger picture-wise, the industrial revolution was probably largely inspired by slavery. People woke up to what unlimited cheap or free power could get you.
I'm not sure about "inspired". Every empire had slavery. Esp the Muslims
If slaves is all you need, then the Romans, Greeks, Ottomans, Arabs, Chinese, Mughals, and so on, would have devised the Industrial Revolution. They did not
Did slaves power the industrial revolution? Certainly: cotton picking slaves in Deep South USA fed English mills, and on we went. Shameful
But let's not alter the truth to fit our political convictions
Big G used the internet to buy his season tickets in the 1990s?
OK.
You have misread my post
I did not have a season ticket but I took 18 journeys to London in 2 years and never went near a ticket office
But you said you bought them online, earlier in your reply to me. Thinking back, that wasn't possible in 1993 - I changed jobs and email was barely a thing. 1999?
Edit: it hardly matters when. The basic point was you knew what ticket to buy and where to go. But the ticketing and fares system is still horrendous. It's a ripoff charter to abolish ticket offices.
As I recall I ordered and paid my tickets direct to Virgin Trains
Biut I repeat: you knew which tickets to order, and where to get them. And had the kit to get them.
Indeed but then we are 30 years on and in the age of the internet
Many in my age group worry about parking apps but it is getting impossible not to have to use them
It is not as convenient for some but it is the way the world is going
That's rather too convenient for some. Look at this, and look at the DM reports and the comments there. They are absolutely ballistic.
They are barbarians who dreamt up this policy and should not be let off so lightly.
I have little doubt they will be closed in due course but if I were to travel by rail I would use Trainline or similar anyway
In other words - you are happy to justify the further deterioration of public services, presumably by way oif support for a non-Labour government, and rely on a website known not to give good value remiably or be propery coordinated with the operators. For instance:
I would just say I have travelled extensively by train in the UK and also abroad including the Ghan and the Blue Train in South Africa and have not experienced problems you mention in either web sites or any other agency
It is not a political issue for me but as in parking apps so rail will inevitably follow though the unions will resist no doubt
Parking apps is an obvious area where the state should just sanction one app - have competitive a 5 year franchise by all means but one app nationwide.
What advantage would having 1 app nationwide bring?
Not having to have 38 different apps on one's phone
See, you don't have 38 parking apps on your phone
But actually I do, adjusted for exaggeration. And 27 of them I have had to download on the fly in flaky coverage and tell them my cc number and resting penis length just to pay the fuckers for an hours bloody parking
Big G used the internet to buy his season tickets in the 1990s?
OK.
You have misread my post
I did not have a season ticket but I took 18 journeys to London in 2 years and never went near a ticket office
But you said you bought them online, earlier in your reply to me. Thinking back, that wasn't possible in 1993 - I changed jobs and email was barely a thing. 1999?
Edit: it hardly matters when. The basic point was you knew what ticket to buy and where to go. But the ticketing and fares system is still horrendous. It's a ripoff charter to abolish ticket offices.
As I recall I ordered and paid my tickets direct to Virgin Trains
Biut I repeat: you knew which tickets to order, and where to get them. And had the kit to get them.
Indeed but then we are 30 years on and in the age of the internet
Many in my age group worry about parking apps but it is getting impossible not to have to use them
It is not as convenient for some but it is the way the world is going
That's rather too convenient for some. Look at this, and look at the DM reports and the comments there. They are absolutely ballistic.
They are barbarians who dreamt up this policy and should not be let off so lightly.
I have little doubt they will be closed in due course but if I were to travel by rail I would use Trainline or similar anyway
In other words - you are happy to justify the further deterioration of public services, presumably by way oif support for a non-Labour government, and rely on a website known not to give good value remiably or be propery coordinated with the operators. For instance:
I would just say I have travelled extensively by train in the UK and also abroad including the Ghan and the Blue Train in South Africa and have not experienced problems you mention in either web sites or any other agency
It is not a political issue for me but as in parking apps so rail will inevitably follow though the unions will resist no doubt
Parking apps is an obvious area where the state should just sanction one app - have competitive a 5 year franchise by all means but one app nationwide.
I am not quite mean and luddite enough to mandate cash being accepted for parking, but I do think card payments should have to be available for any parking. If they want an app on top fine, but a physical on site card option should be mandatory.
Yes, of course, the Industrial Revolution actually started in West Africa, went to Jamaica, via slaves, then evil Britons stole it away, and started their foundries in Coalbrookdale
Why quack?
It seems to be based on historical research and documents.
West Africans didn't even have the fucking wheel til it was given to them in the mid 19th century. Yet they mastered one of the crucial processes of the Industrial Revolution? Which was then "stolen" by the Evil White Imperialist Slaving Britons?
We are entering the era of post-Scientific Truth, let alone post-Truth
You don't need a wheel to smelt iron, and the article explained it via the adaption of sugar cane rollers.
There was extensive metal working in West Africa, indeed it was access to West African gold that the Europeans originally wanted from their trade, only later moving to the sugar and slave industrial model.
On the face of it, it looks like total bollocks.
The tell us that both academics provide some accompanying spin that “the story here is Britain closing down, through military force, competition,” and that the findings are relevant to the reparations movement.
Wow! We’ve already had a Primeminister slain by a lettuce, now Mickey Mouse thinks he’s hard enough to take on “Whitewash” Jenrick. Who’s going to win this one?
The home office staff are absolutely correct - Jenrick is out of order 100%
Though possibly their mural is a copyright violation of Disneys rights...
Personally I have always thought the cartoons on children's facilities quite sinister.
Comments
Bit like a friend, on the management committee of his block of flats, who was told that the block couldn’t take the weight of fireproof cladding. Yes, it was structurally inadequate to a shocking extent, already.
If cars increasing in weight 15% is going to cause problems for car parks then we *already* have a problem.
Which catches quite a few.
As I said, structures also age and get weaker (which is one reason for margins in the first place). Especially as live loads are separate to dead loads.
https://content.tfl.gov.uk/london-rail-and-tube-services-map.pdf
But I wouldn't worry, as I doubt this new technology will be available to buy until the very end of this decade. If ever.
This can really matter, especially when adding heavy things like air conditioners, or ;forgetting' the *dead loads* when doing your calculations...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampoong_Department_Store_collapse
https://youtu.be/Yg8FUOls0fU
A few years later they decided it was simpler to just do it all* in house.
* Well, almost all
Tickets are great for showing what you are doing.
I welcome any input, but I dispute that such groups produce any sort of genuine analysis.
The grotesque thing about that is the man in charge knew the building was about to collapse and left it, but ordered that staff not evacuate either shoppers or themselves. Ten years was too little.
This FoI is interesting, even though it says there are no problems:
https://www.cambridge.gov.uk/media/12401/foi-request-13107-car-park-weight-capacity.pdf
And the following:
https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/news/motoring-news/calls-for-changes-to-uk-car-parks-to-deal-with-weight-of-modern-cars/
Need to improve and greatly speed up video processing and workflow, want a unit that is robust and lasts a few years. Need to work on the move so that rules out a Mini. Soooo I think a 14" Pro will fit the bill.
A few questions about 10 core vs 12 core processors, or do I go mad and go M2 Max? Budget less of an issue than getting the spec right, don't want to go completely overboard but also a few hundred quid more on various options better to spend up front than end up under-spec. Anyway its a company purchase so true cost is 70% of retail anyway.
https://content.tfl.gov.uk/london-rail-and-tube-services-map.pdf
I should know - I've visited every station contained within that area (inc. Reading, Gatwick, Luton Airport)!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyatt_Regency_walkway_collapse
When I was studying comp sci/programming, Therac 25 was similarly the horror story:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therac-25
Real engineers study failures.
OK.
I did not have a season ticket but I took 18 journeys to London in 2 years and never went near a ticket office
Edit: it hardly matters when. The basic point was you knew what ticket to buy and where to go. But the ticketing and fares system is still horrendous. It's a ripoff charter to abolish ticket offices.
The Hyatt was a classic case study. Always check what is built is what you asked for...
Greenwich to Albert Hall?
Take the Southeastern mainline trains from Greenwich station to Cannon Street, then District Line to South Kensington. Failing Cannon Street, some trains go to Charing Cross, where Embankment station on the District Line is a 100 yard walk.
At South Kensington, there's a nice long airy subway running north towards the Science Museum and Imperial College. The Albert Hall is next door to Imperial.
In buying Macs - get lots of memory. Get at least a 2TB hard drive.
For the processor - I go for the option below the absolute max. That last “point” on the spec seems to be super expensive and not worth it.
I sat illegally in 1st class on the way back in order to stick it to the man.
Many in my age group worry about parking apps but it is getting impossible not to have to use them
It is not as convenient for some but it is the way the world is going
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-9986075/World-renowned-flintknapper-house-Internet-lives-garden-like-caveman.html
https://content.tfl.gov.uk/london-rail-and-tube-services-map.pdf
They are barbarians who dreamt up this policy and should not be let off so lightly.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jul/05/rail-ticket-offices-england-closure-reaction
https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2015/september/contactless-payments-and-oyster-extended-to-dartfo
*The disseminated melanoma case still has black spots all through the sawn-in-half vertebral column almost 2 centuries later. Slip, slap and slop, girls and boys.
The internet, while being a boon, provides for additional ways for all of us - let alone the most vulnerable - to be totally confused and swindled.
As someone noted above, “suck it up”, doesn’t work for anyone, least of all the Tory target vote.
https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/rail-fares-on-the-rise-what-are-your-rights-a5ERQ1k3ldmu
Edity: for instance:
"Railcard issues and outdated technology
Stavros Demetriades was left similarly confused when he attempted to buy a discounted ticket using his Freedom Pass and Senior Railcard. His discounts weren’t available online or from station ticketing machines, so he needed to go to a ticket office.
However, the office at his local station was closed, and Stavros was told he’d need to travel to the next station to buy his ticket. He was informed that plans are afoot to update online services and ticket machines to accommodate his discounts, but that it would take around three years for the changes to be made."
Add the same problems with the Disabled Railcard and that's a serious breach of equality legislation. And that was published a few months ago.
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/01/rich-kids-healthier-foods/431646/?utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
I occasionally used the ticket office in the UK to:
Figure out the best deal
Upgrade to first class
Clarify connection times.
Buy a ticket when machines are broken
Buy tickets for large groups with different needs
Get a refund
And I am hardly some elderly drooler with limited digital skills.
It is not a political issue for me but as in parking apps so rail will inevitably follow though the unions will resist no doubt
Only one change.
And the thing is it’s a Mac so will the build quality means it will last years so buy on the basis that you will use it for 5 years and get a decent amount of storage,,
Most just sit in first class and plead ignorance if challenged.
No-one should rely on connection times on a network where so many trains are cancelled or delayed.....
As for the rest, you have been either very lucky or very unaware.
Next step, solutions to improve things. If possible, involving tax cuts for the over 70s, boat people, and a return of the barleycorn.
There is surely something in that. Indeed I've done it myself. You've got yowling, or unhappy, or snappish kids in the car, you just want them to shut up and eat SOMETHING, and there is McDonalds. And it is cheap, and convenient, and you don't have to persuade them to try whelks
It doesn't explain, however, why so many middle class adult Americans are so obscenely FAT. I know the Brits are bad, but Midwest America, wow. Something has gone very wrong in their food culture
I ran my own businesses over decades and was very aware and indeed switched on
Top of the range on memory is now 96Gb
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/jul/05/industrial-revolution-iron-method-taken-from-jamaica-briton
Yes, of course, the Industrial Revolution actually started in West Africa, went to Jamaica, via slaves, then evil Britons stole it away, and started their foundries in Coalbrookdale
See - a concession. “You are of course right, Rabbit” in other words.
I’ll build on this win and go further. It’s clear from the Cambridge election, where like in Uxbridge Ulez is 100% unpopular and a vote loser, also in Uxbridge as HY says the excited Hindu vote is 100% behind Sunak - Starmer and Labour could not only be on course for an awful lot of egg of their face, a sea change in the momentum of UK politics this general election run in, but where the mainstream media in retrospect try to analysis and explain it, we can actually tell them tonight why Labour failed to take Uxbridge despite national polls saying it is going to be easy. As you put it yourself, there just isn’t a more thoughtful or consensual introduction of Labour policy going on, is there.
And you can’t come back with “Labour arn’t actually in power so what on earth are you babbling on about” (or much shorter and ruder way Gardenwalker has of saying this same thing) because of the reason Ranen Ganesh knows Labour won’t be winning a majority at election, people are going to start saying “what’s it going to be like living under a Labour government, what’s it going to be like for me” where living under Khan and the roll out of his policies in Uxbridge is a perfect example of what Ganesh said would happen as judgement day draws closer, isn’t it?
The government should be a consumer champion.
Life is better without the petty hassle of trying to figure out what app to download, in an area of poor connectivity, and then struggling through piss-poor UX.
It seems to be based on historical research and documents.
They should have sorted out the ticketing system, so you can buy your tickets on an app etc and just have a barcode, and then quietly closed down the ticket offices. This is still some way off on large parts of the network.
How much faff, or conversely, how little faff, is involved in everyday tasks?
Faff is a pain. It degrades quality of life.
Faff seems to multiply in more densely-populated places because there is more resource contestation and systems designed to manage that are usually faffy.
America often surprises on the faffy (litigious) and the non-faffy (car parking).
Britain is quite faffy.
Japan and Germany and Swiss seem less faffy.
Italy can be very faffy.
It should be government’s mission to remove faff.
Faff is generally a kind of tax on the poor.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_wheel_in_Africa
Colour me Chrome Skeptical
We are entering the era of post-Scientific Truth, let alone post-Truth
Britain is over-ridden with it.
Who’s going to win this one?
Apparently because the train operating companies now provide the service at cost-plus-2%-management-fee, it's not in their interests particularly to try to pare down costs like this -- but it is in the DfT's interest...
There was extensive metal working in West Africa, indeed it was access to West African gold that the Europeans originally wanted from their trade, only later moving to the sugar and slave industrial model.
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/why-do-we-never-talk-about-islamic-slavery/
If slaves is all you need, then the Romans, Greeks, Ottomans, Arabs, Chinese, Mughals, and so on, would have devised the Industrial Revolution. They did not
Did slaves power the industrial revolution? Certainly: cotton picking slaves in Deep South USA fed English mills, and on we went. Shameful
But let's not alter the truth to fit our political convictions
The tell us that both academics provide some accompanying spin that “the story here is Britain closing down, through military force, competition,” and that the findings are relevant to the reparations movement.
Personally I have always thought the cartoons on children's facilities quite sinister.