I mentioned xmas being cancelled in the USA the other day on PB.
And here we are...
Reuters @Reuters · 1h US retailers are almost completely reliant on China for Christmas decorations; sourcing 87% of their goods here. But Chinese producers said that orders from US clients have slowed as both sides are cautious about the risk of rising import tariffs https://reut.rs/43MVcFS
These dogs should be totally banned , removed from their owners and put down . I’m sick of these stupid owners whining about XL bullies being misunderstood or wouldn’t hurt a fly .
@BlancheLivermore why do you care so much about a tv series? I haven’t seen it and I don’t care.
Because Starmer has turned it into semi-official propaganda
And he keeps accidentally calling it fact rather than fiction
Is he doing it stupidly or deliberately?
Who cares? There are more important things going on
How dare you
Adolescence is the most important TV show ever
All the lefties, like the PM, told me that already
It must shown in schools, apparently..
Maybe it should be shown in schools. Who cares?
Sensible people who don't think that it's worthwhile educational material?
Nah. I haven’t seen it but it’s the same people who are irrationally angry about it are also the same people who think any criticism of white men is woke or racist or both. You need to get out more
How many lessons at school would have to be missed by watching Adolescence?
If it's more than half, fuck off
Im sure you put this much energy into all other aspects of the curriculum too.
If I had the chance..
Maths would be old school
Nobody gets out of primary school without knowing their times tables, up to 15
I wouldn't get out of primary school now on that metric due to failing maths.
And I have a maths degree.
Very worrying.
Ditto. I have a maths degree also and have never learnt my times tables. People confuse a memory test with actual maths. Learning your times table is not maths. Trouble is learning your times table does not equip you with anything outside of that boundary. Learning maths properly equips you to deal with problems you haven't encountered before.
That's a truly pathetic admission
Learn your times tables, then teach them to someone else
You'll be a better mathematician and person by doing so
No, I wouldn't be. Learning times table by heart would just mean I can calculate things marginally quicker. The hard part of proper maths problems is the logic behind it, not the numerical processing.
I think it's better to have the tools to quickly calculate different sums. I would calculate 13 x 15 the same way as I would 283 x 15. By quickly breaking down each sum into solvable parts. You still get to the result in seconds.
I think that is a far more valuable thing to learn than memorising a set number of multiplications by rote.
@BlancheLivermore why do you care so much about a tv series? I haven’t seen it and I don’t care.
Because Starmer has turned it into semi-official propaganda
And he keeps accidentally calling it fact rather than fiction
Is he doing it stupidly or deliberately?
Who cares? There are more important things going on
How dare you
Adolescence is the most important TV show ever
All the lefties, like the PM, told me that already
It must shown in schools, apparently..
Maybe it should be shown in schools. Who cares?
Sensible people who don't think that it's worthwhile educational material?
Nah. I haven’t seen it but it’s the same people who are irrationally angry about it are also the same people who think any criticism of white men is woke or racist or both. You need to get out more
How many lessons at school would have to be missed by watching Adolescence?
If it's more than half, fuck off
Is it the programme you object to? Or the teaching about the dangers of misogyny on social media?
Presumably if you think the latter is a suitable subject for secondary schools, how would you teach it and with what supporting materials?
I do have to giggle. I poke a stick at the PB Angry Right and they respond predictably.
"Propaganda"
Saying that boys shouldn't stab girls Saying that girls need to treat boys with respect Saying that boys need to treat girls with respect Saying that we have a real problem with violence against women and girls which starts in school
Propaganda.
I don't think most on the right disagree with that in the least at least in the uk. I am fairly right wing compared to most others here though not what I would describe as far right. I subscribe to all of those statements
Good. For the record, as sensational a production Adolescence is, I don't think *anyone* is suggesting that it be shown in schools in its entirety.
I remember lots of TV being shown in school. Short sections of things. Used to illustrate an issue. With discussion and work following.
There is very clearly something in the program which can be useful in combatting the toxic masculinity "uppity bitchez are the problem brothers" narrative which has flourished.
"I don't think *anyone* is suggesting that it be shown in schools in its entirety."
Maybe I am wrong, but isn't that exactly what Starmer is suggesting? Otherwise no one would be talking about this in a political sense
"The prime minister told them the show was "at times harrowing" but had "lit a touch paper" under the debate about the issues.
"We've been watching with our children - my boy is 16, my girl is 14 - and I have to say, I found it really hard," he told BBC political editor Chris Mason.
It was so arresting, he said, because "in a sense, what happens in the drama could really happen anywhere, and almost happen to any child".
It shone a light "on misogyny, on online content, and this sense of children, particularly boys, getting drawn in to this world", he said.
But unlike some things the government deals with, "there isn't an obvious policy response which will answer all of these questions", he added.
"It's much broader than that. It's a cultural issue, and therefore we're going to have to look more broadly, work as a society on this, and discuss it, which is why I'm really pleased that Adolescence is now going to be shown in schools free because I do think young people should be watching it.""
The question is *who* is talking about this in political terms. And why.
Well Starmer introduced the subject I think, and it has followed from there - Badenoch being repeatedly asked whether she has watched it, and kind of attacked when she said she hasn't. It appears that in the media's eyes she is now the bad guy for not having watched it, which seems a bit much
Nick Ferrari (I know! Nick Ferrari) was surprised she hadn't made the effort to see it when toxic masculinity was a particularly hot topic. I don't think the fact she didn't watch it is as much of an issue as the use of extreme right wing propaganda to justify why she didn't watch it.
They had a female pollster on the 5PM News who said trumps numbers were going down very fast. I can't get it easily but here is a different finding from yesterday
Bond yields, the dollar and global stocks are an antidote to the Trump reality distortion field. Unlike election fraud or condoms to Gaza and the like, he can’t create numbers out of thin air. When money is on the line, if investors don’t believe him, they will sell.
@BlancheLivermore why do you care so much about a tv series? I haven’t seen it and I don’t care.
Because Starmer has turned it into semi-official propaganda
And he keeps accidentally calling it fact rather than fiction
Is he doing it stupidly or deliberately?
Who cares? There are more important things going on
How dare you
Adolescence is the most important TV show ever
All the lefties, like the PM, told me that already
It must shown in schools, apparently..
Maybe it should be shown in schools. Who cares?
Sensible people who don't think that it's worthwhile educational material?
Nah. I haven’t seen it but it’s the same people who are irrationally angry about it are also the same people who think any criticism of white men is woke or racist or both. You need to get out more
How many lessons at school would have to be missed by watching Adolescence?
If it's more than half, fuck off
Im sure you put this much energy into all other aspects of the curriculum too.
If I had the chance..
Maths would be old school
Nobody gets out of primary school without knowing their times tables, up to 15
I wouldn't get out of primary school now on that metric due to failing maths.
And I have a maths degree.
Very worrying.
Ditto. I have a maths degree also and have never learnt my times tables. People confuse a memory test with actual maths. Learning your times table is not maths. Trouble is learning your times table does not equip you with anything outside of that boundary. Learning maths properly equips you to deal with problems you haven't encountered before.
That's a truly pathetic admission
Learn your times tables, then teach them to someone else
You'll be a better mathematician and person by doing so
No, I wouldn't be. Learning times table by heart would just mean I can calculate things marginally quicker. The hard part of proper maths problems is the logic behind it, not the numerical processing.
I think it's better to have the tools to quickly calculate different sums. I would calculate 13 x 15 the same way as I would 283 x 15. By quickly breaking down each sum into solvable parts. You still get to the result in seconds.
I think that is a far more valuable thing to learn than memorising a set number of multiplications by rote.
Indeed: it also helps you understand how maths works.
When I was teaching my son maths, I really focused on him understanding that 17 is (1 x 10, and 1 x 7), because that is the very essence of our mathematics, and I only reallyunderstood it much later in life.
Here's a short review of the shuttle bus on the Silvertown Tunnel by a mate who videoblogs, who is ... yes they exist ... a traffic sign designer. It is an add on to a longer vid about the Silvertown Tunnel. He has a bit of the Les Dawson's about him: https://youtu.be/7UQ3SZJuw88?t=558
TLDR: it's an abortion, and a sticky plaster.
They have done things like only have one wheelchair ramp, not two - so you can't wheel on, then off, and have to turn round on the bus. Or alternatively reverse down a narrow ramp with no side rails, which is very steep because the bus can't lower its floor and extend the ramp at the same time.
it's all in the detail, and all the detail is all wrong. This and more is just normal TFL standards.
Here's the assessment by Wheels for Wellbeing. TLDR is 'Unsafe, don't use unless you use a normal cycle as your mobility aid and have enough mobility/strength to be able to pick it up.'
There are underlying issues such as the design standard still being the 1990s "reference wheelchair", which research back ~2020 showed excluded 1/3 of wheelchairs, and since when there has been a rush to force in e-buses without updating the standards with easy changes.
But mainly it's an utter fuckup on this scheme. From their £2.2bn budget they could not find a working answer.
(Update: Hmmm. Wonders about practicality of mobiliety aid users using the Superloop Bus for this segment.)
Out of interest, what is the maximum amount that should be spent to make a scheme like this fully wheelchair/disabled-friendly
"China retaliated today by reducing the number of American films that can be shown there. What's your reaction to them now targeting cultural exports?"
They had a female pollster on the 5PM News who said trumps numbers were going down very fast. I can't get it easily but here is a different finding from yesterday
It's getting near the point where trade between the two just near-enough stops. Presumably that will also involve China not buying any more US bonds and probably continuing to wind down its current stock, which will put upwards pressure on interest rates.
I don't think Trump has any idea of the value of the US dollar as the global reserve, and the extent to which he's risking that status with his current policies.
No of possibilities with Trump. 1. Hes a russian asset bent on destroying the united states. 2. Its all about the grift hence the constant pumping and crashing of markets to enrich himself. 3. Hes a genuine moron.
I think its a combination of 2 and 3 though cant discount 1.
I saw someone the other day describe Trump as a Russian asset but not a Russian agent, which I think is probably right.
I agree on the other two.
The most valuable human asset is the one who does what you want without any input or control on your part.
A bit like a Romba then… trundling around the house spitting out dirt?
I achieved an A in both Maths and Further Maths at A-Levels which reinforces my status as a polymath.
Same, and in my case a year early for both, too.
#sadclaimtofame
I was such a geek those years, I was so happy when I did a full A-Level course in less than a year.
My final Further Maths exam was the most stressful experience of my life, final A-Level exam ever, 3 hrs, Q1 worth 50 marks, and Q2 & Q3 worth 25 marks each, I was planning on spending 90 mins on Q1, after 60 mins I thought I was on track, next time I locked at the clock, I was 150 mins into the exam and had just finished Q1.
Raced through Qs 2 & 3 and spent the summer worrying I had screwed up my grades and wouldn't get into my first choice university.
Still managed an A overall.
It was the last time I was ever plagued by self doubt.
@BlancheLivermore why do you care so much about a tv series? I haven’t seen it and I don’t care.
Because Starmer has turned it into semi-official propaganda
And he keeps accidentally calling it fact rather than fiction
Is he doing it stupidly or deliberately?
Who cares? There are more important things going on
How dare you
Adolescence is the most important TV show ever
All the lefties, like the PM, told me that already
It must shown in schools, apparently..
Maybe it should be shown in schools. Who cares?
Sensible people who don't think that it's worthwhile educational material?
Nah. I haven’t seen it but it’s the same people who are irrationally angry about it are also the same people who think any criticism of white men is woke or racist or both. You need to get out more
How many lessons at school would have to be missed by watching Adolescence?
If it's more than half, fuck off
Im sure you put this much energy into all other aspects of the curriculum too.
If I had the chance..
Maths would be old school
Nobody gets out of primary school without knowing their times tables, up to 15
I think the use of calculators etc is just ingrained now. I was doing an interview the other day and the candidate used a calculator for 20 x 10. Really.
At least it was a short interview.
Sadly not. So desperate are unis for bums on seats that we just make a note ‘May need maths support’ and accept!
"China retaliated today by reducing the number of American films that can be shown there. What's your reaction to them now targeting cultural exports?"
@BlancheLivermore why do you care so much about a tv series? I haven’t seen it and I don’t care.
Because Starmer has turned it into semi-official propaganda
And he keeps accidentally calling it fact rather than fiction
Is he doing it stupidly or deliberately?
Who cares? There are more important things going on
How dare you
Adolescence is the most important TV show ever
All the lefties, like the PM, told me that already
It must shown in schools, apparently..
Maybe it should be shown in schools. Who cares?
Sensible people who don't think that it's worthwhile educational material?
Nah. I haven’t seen it but it’s the same people who are irrationally angry about it are also the same people who think any criticism of white men is woke or racist or both. You need to get out more
How many lessons at school would have to be missed by watching Adolescence?
If it's more than half, fuck off
Is it the programme you object to? Or the teaching about the dangers of misogyny on social media?
Presumably if you think the latter is a suitable subject for secondary schools, how would you teach it and with what supporting materials?
I do have to giggle. I poke a stick at the PB Angry Right and they respond predictably.
"Propaganda"
Saying that boys shouldn't stab girls Saying that girls need to treat boys with respect Saying that boys need to treat girls with respect Saying that we have a real problem with violence against women and girls which starts in school
Propaganda.
I don't think most on the right disagree with that in the least at least in the uk. I am fairly right wing compared to most others here though not what I would describe as far right. I subscribe to all of those statements
Good. For the record, as sensational a production Adolescence is, I don't think *anyone* is suggesting that it be shown in schools in its entirety.
I remember lots of TV being shown in school. Short sections of things. Used to illustrate an issue. With discussion and work following.
There is very clearly something in the program which can be useful in combatting the toxic masculinity "uppity bitchez are the problem brothers" narrative which has flourished.
"I don't think *anyone* is suggesting that it be shown in schools in its entirety."
Maybe I am wrong, but isn't that exactly what Starmer is suggesting? Otherwise no one would be talking about this in a political sense
"The prime minister told them the show was "at times harrowing" but had "lit a touch paper" under the debate about the issues.
"We've been watching with our children - my boy is 16, my girl is 14 - and I have to say, I found it really hard," he told BBC political editor Chris Mason.
It was so arresting, he said, because "in a sense, what happens in the drama could really happen anywhere, and almost happen to any child".
It shone a light "on misogyny, on online content, and this sense of children, particularly boys, getting drawn in to this world", he said.
But unlike some things the government deals with, "there isn't an obvious policy response which will answer all of these questions", he added.
"It's much broader than that. It's a cultural issue, and therefore we're going to have to look more broadly, work as a society on this, and discuss it, which is why I'm really pleased that Adolescence is now going to be shown in schools free because I do think young people should be watching it.""
The question is *who* is talking about this in political terms. And why.
Well Starmer introduced the subject I think, and it has followed from there - Badenoch being repeatedly asked whether she has watched it, and kind of attacked when she said she hasn't. It appears that in the media's eyes she is now the bad guy for not having watched it, which seems a bit much
Nick Ferrari (I know! Nick Ferrari) was surprised she hadn't made the effort to see it when toxic masculinity was a particularly hot topic. I don't think the fact she didn't watch it is as much of an issue as the use of extreme right wing propaganda to justify why she didn't watch it.
A better response would have been:
"No, I haven't seen Adolescence, but have seen enough misogyny over the years to be familiar enough with the issues. It's up to schools how they frame such subjects to their students, just as it is with other important subjects like Islamic extremism, gang culture and other social issues."
Americans may need to have vaccination certificates in order to travel. We should not let this mindless idiocy become a threat to our own public health.
It’s not an area of much interest to me, but I thought it was in-group breeding magnifying certain traits.
Basically science nerds can now find each other and mate…
They had a female pollster on the 5PM News who said trumps numbers were going down very fast. I can't get it easily but here is a different finding from yesterday
I achieved an A in both Maths and Further Maths at A-Levels which reinforces my status as a polymath.
Same, and in my case a year early for both, too.
#sadclaimtofame
I was such a geek those years, I was so happy when I did a full A-Level course in less than a year.
My final Further Maths exam was the most stressful experience of my life, final A-Level exam ever, 3 hrs, Q1 worth 50 marks, and Q2 & Q3 worth 25 marks each, I was planning on spending 90 mins on Q1, after 60 mins I thought I was on track, next time I locked at the clock, I was 130 mins into the exam and had just finished Q1.
Raced through Qs 2 & 3 and spent the summer worrying I had screwed up my grades and wouldn't get into my first choice university.
Still managed an A overall.
It was the last time I was ever plagued by self doubt.
I always though id aced my Maths A level after i had done it but there is always that element of doubt until the results come through in August.
Bond yields, the dollar and global stocks are an antidote to the Trump reality distortion field. Unlike election fraud or condoms to Gaza and the like, he can’t create numbers out of thin air. When money is on the line, if investors don’t believe him, they will sell.
Wasn't there a suggestion that Trump wants to have Whitehouse approved economic statistics in case things turn south? It probably sounds like a good idea to him, but the people with money will not play ball.
@BlancheLivermore why do you care so much about a tv series? I haven’t seen it and I don’t care.
Because Starmer has turned it into semi-official propaganda
And he keeps accidentally calling it fact rather than fiction
Is he doing it stupidly or deliberately?
Who cares? There are more important things going on
How dare you
Adolescence is the most important TV show ever
All the lefties, like the PM, told me that already
It must shown in schools, apparently..
Maybe it should be shown in schools. Who cares?
Sensible people who don't think that it's worthwhile educational material?
Nah. I haven’t seen it but it’s the same people who are irrationally angry about it are also the same people who think any criticism of white men is woke or racist or both. You need to get out more
How many lessons at school would have to be missed by watching Adolescence?
If it's more than half, fuck off
Im sure you put this much energy into all other aspects of the curriculum too.
If I had the chance..
Maths would be old school
Nobody gets out of primary school without knowing their times tables, up to 15
I think the use of calculators etc is just ingrained now. I was doing an interview the other day and the candidate used a calculator for 20 x 10. Really.
If you can't do basic arithmetic then you can't work out when you've made a key entry error in your calculator for a more complicated calculation. And that's when things get dangerous, because it ends with the wrong dosage being given by orders of magnitude, or a building that can't support its own weight.
Memory and knowledge/understanding/method are pretty much one and the same thing in my opinion. The idea that you can do anything much without using memory doesn't really make sense.
@BlancheLivermore why do you care so much about a tv series? I haven’t seen it and I don’t care.
Because Starmer has turned it into semi-official propaganda
And he keeps accidentally calling it fact rather than fiction
Is he doing it stupidly or deliberately?
Who cares? There are more important things going on
How dare you
Adolescence is the most important TV show ever
All the lefties, like the PM, told me that already
It must shown in schools, apparently..
Maybe it should be shown in schools. Who cares?
Sensible people who don't think that it's worthwhile educational material?
Nah. I haven’t seen it but it’s the same people who are irrationally angry about it are also the same people who think any criticism of white men is woke or racist or both. You need to get out more
How many lessons at school would have to be missed by watching Adolescence?
If it's more than half, fuck off
Is it the programme you object to? Or the teaching about the dangers of misogyny on social media?
Presumably if you think the latter is a suitable subject for secondary schools, how would you teach it and with what supporting materials?
I do have to giggle. I poke a stick at the PB Angry Right and they respond predictably.
"Propaganda"
Saying that boys shouldn't stab girls Saying that girls need to treat boys with respect Saying that boys need to treat girls with respect Saying that we have a real problem with violence against women and girls which starts in school
Propaganda.
I don't think most on the right disagree with that in the least at least in the uk. I am fairly right wing compared to most others here though not what I would describe as far right. I subscribe to all of those statements
Good. For the record, as sensational a production Adolescence is, I don't think *anyone* is suggesting that it be shown in schools in its entirety.
I remember lots of TV being shown in school. Short sections of things. Used to illustrate an issue. With discussion and work following.
There is very clearly something in the program which can be useful in combatting the toxic masculinity "uppity bitchez are the problem brothers" narrative which has flourished.
"I don't think *anyone* is suggesting that it be shown in schools in its entirety."
Maybe I am wrong, but isn't that exactly what Starmer is suggesting? Otherwise no one would be talking about this in a political sense
"The prime minister told them the show was "at times harrowing" but had "lit a touch paper" under the debate about the issues.
"We've been watching with our children - my boy is 16, my girl is 14 - and I have to say, I found it really hard," he told BBC political editor Chris Mason.
It was so arresting, he said, because "in a sense, what happens in the drama could really happen anywhere, and almost happen to any child".
It shone a light "on misogyny, on online content, and this sense of children, particularly boys, getting drawn in to this world", he said.
But unlike some things the government deals with, "there isn't an obvious policy response which will answer all of these questions", he added.
"It's much broader than that. It's a cultural issue, and therefore we're going to have to look more broadly, work as a society on this, and discuss it, which is why I'm really pleased that Adolescence is now going to be shown in schools free because I do think young people should be watching it.""
The question is *who* is talking about this in political terms. And why.
Well Starmer introduced the subject I think, and it has followed from there - Badenoch being repeatedly asked whether she has watched it, and kind of attacked when she said she hasn't. It appears that in the media's eyes she is now the bad guy for not having watched it, which seems a bit much
Nick Ferrari (I know! Nick Ferrari) was surprised she hadn't made the effort to see it when toxic masculinity was a particularly hot topic. I don't think the fact she didn't watch it is as much of an issue as the use of extreme right wing propaganda to justify why she didn't watch it.
A better response would have been:
"No, I haven't seen Adolescence, but have seen enough misogyny over the years to be familiar enough with the issues. It's up to schools how they frame such subjects to their students, just as it is with other important subjects like Islamic extremism, gang culture and other social issues."
That would have been fine! Surely the issue politically for Badenoch is this - she's claiming that its had the race changed for woke reasons. Hasn't seen it, but wants to use it as a stick to beat the government with.
I mentioned xmas being cancelled in the USA the other day on PB.
And here we are...
Reuters @Reuters · 1h US retailers are almost completely reliant on China for Christmas decorations; sourcing 87% of their goods here. But Chinese producers said that orders from US clients have slowed as both sides are cautious about the risk of rising import tariffs https://reut.rs/43MVcFS
One just sends the children to bring down the tatty cardboard box from the loft and takes the cotton wool off the baubles, and patches up one's late great aunt's paper chains from '38 n'est-ce pas? Consumerism gone mad innit.
Bond yields, the dollar and global stocks are an antidote to the Trump reality distortion field. Unlike election fraud or condoms to Gaza and the like, he can’t create numbers out of thin air. When money is on the line, if investors don’t believe him, they will sell.
Wasn't there a suggestion that Trump wants to have Whitehouse approved economic statistics in case things turn south? It probably sounds like a good idea to him, but the people with money will not play ball.
How many of our teachers think that watching a video of Adolescence would be a good way to educate their students?
We can make our kids watch the original Star Wars to warn them of the dangers of creating planet-destroying super-weapons?
A lesson sadly ignored or forgotten within just a few short years by (1) the Empire again and then (2) the First Order. #lazyscriptwriting
*GEEK ALERT*
The problem was, in the original version of "The Star Wars" the Death Star didn't appear until the third act (which is basically what we now know as Return of the Jedi)
When Lucas had to cut the story down and the first act become A New Hope, he decided to take the Death Star from act three and move it into act one.
But now you have a problem. How do you "top" the Death Star that you've already used as the climax to your first act in your final act?
Hence, Death Star II.
As for the First Order, that's another issue as the Sequel Trilogy is SWINO (Star Wars In Name Only) IMO and I have no interest in it.
Went to Tescos today and paid £2.25 for my broccoli instead a pound, because I forgot my club card. First thing that came to mind was that I felt like I was on the wrong end of one of Trump's tariffs
Download the Tesco app to your phone.
This is part of today's problems....download the app to your phone.....how about we just don't take a phone everywhere and interact
When I leave the house, I'm 99% certain to have my wallet - and therefore my clubcard with me. But only about 75% certain to have a working phone with me.
I also don't really want tobe downoading someone else's software onto my phone. Once, you only needed three apps - one for phoning, one for texting and one for exploring the internet. That's all I want and all I need.
Went to Tescos today and paid £2.25 for my broccoli instead a pound, because I forgot my club card. First thing that came to mind was that I felt like I was on the wrong end of one of Trump's tariffs
Download the Tesco app to your phone.
This is part of today's problems....download the app to your phone.....how about we just don't take a phone everywhere and interact
When I leave the house, I'm 99% certain to have my wallet - and therefore my clubcard with me. But only about 75% certain to have a working phone with me.
I also don't really want tobe downoading someone else's software onto my phone. Once, you only needed three apps - one for phoning, one for texting and one for exploring the internet. That's all I want and all I need.
They used to, and maybe still do provide little keychain fobs with your barcode on:
@BlancheLivermore why do you care so much about a tv series? I haven’t seen it and I don’t care.
Because Starmer has turned it into semi-official propaganda
And he keeps accidentally calling it fact rather than fiction
Is he doing it stupidly or deliberately?
Who cares? There are more important things going on
How dare you
Adolescence is the most important TV show ever
All the lefties, like the PM, told me that already
It must shown in schools, apparently..
Maybe it should be shown in schools. Who cares?
Sensible people who don't think that it's worthwhile educational material?
Nah. I haven’t seen it but it’s the same people who are irrationally angry about it are also the same people who think any criticism of white men is woke or racist or both. You need to get out more
How many lessons at school would have to be missed by watching Adolescence?
If it's more than half, fuck off
Im sure you put this much energy into all other aspects of the curriculum too.
If I had the chance..
Maths would be old school
Nobody gets out of primary school without knowing their times tables, up to 15
I wouldn't get out of primary school now on that metric due to failing maths.
And I have a maths degree.
Very worrying.
Ditto. I have a maths degree also and have never learnt my times tables. People confuse a memory test with actual maths. Learning your times table is not maths. Trouble is learning your times table does not equip you with anything outside of that boundary. Learning maths properly equips you to deal with problems you haven't encountered before.
That's a truly pathetic admission
Learn your times tables, then teach them to someone else
You'll be a better mathematician and person by doing so
Utter, utter utter nonsense. Someone with mathematical ability doesn't need to learn times tables. What is the point?. People who learn by rote usually can't work outside of those parameters or implement in a different scenario. Sure if you don't have that ability learn them, but otherwise it is pointless. I can never do arithmetic on combinations of numbers up to 180 that a darts player can do, but on any other problem I will be better than 99% of them. What is special about multiplication upto 12x12, but nothing else. Why learn just hat by rote. What is better is to teach people how to work stuff out. I have come across so many people who know how to solve a problem they have been taught, but can't solve a different problem which in essence is identical, because they have been taught by rote and not why they are doing what they are doing.
“This is another example of Kennedy being an ignoramus about vaccination, if not other things as well. And you can quote me on that,” said Stanley Plotkin, a co-developer of the rotavirus vaccine and of the vaccine that protects against rubella. Plotkin is a professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania. https://x.com/adamfeuerstein/status/1910435131745329551
Went to Tescos today and paid £2.25 for my broccoli instead a pound, because I forgot my club card. First thing that came to mind was that I felt like I was on the wrong end of one of Trump's tariffs
Download the Tesco app to your phone.
This is part of today's problems....download the app to your phone.....how about we just don't take a phone everywhere and interact
When I leave the house, I'm 99% certain to have my wallet - and therefore my clubcard with me. But only about 75% certain to have a working phone with me.
I also don't really want tobe downoading someone else's software onto my phone. Once, you only needed three apps - one for phoning, one for texting and one for exploring the internet. That's all I want and all I need.
My phone has no apps on it nor does it leave my desk unless I have to go away for work reasons
Went to Tescos today and paid £2.25 for my broccoli instead a pound, because I forgot my club card. First thing that came to mind was that I felt like I was on the wrong end of one of Trump's tariffs
Download the Tesco app to your phone.
This is part of today's problems....download the app to your phone.....how about we just don't take a phone everywhere and interact
When I leave the house, I'm 99% certain to have my wallet - and therefore my clubcard with me. But only about 75% certain to have a working phone with me.
I also don't really want tobe downoading someone else's software onto my phone. Once, you only needed three apps - one for phoning, one for texting and one for exploring the internet. That's all I want and all I need.
Your choice but I suspect you're cutting yourself off from the future.
I spend a lot of time helping people, generally over-75, who have chosen not to join in to the PC/Internet/Smartphone world but who now find themselves digitally excluded. I often wonder whether I will decline to use something that will place me at a similar disadvantage in the future - hopefully not.
@BlancheLivermore why do you care so much about a tv series? I haven’t seen it and I don’t care.
Because Starmer has turned it into semi-official propaganda
And he keeps accidentally calling it fact rather than fiction
Is he doing it stupidly or deliberately?
Who cares? There are more important things going on
How dare you
Adolescence is the most important TV show ever
All the lefties, like the PM, told me that already
It must shown in schools, apparently..
Maybe it should be shown in schools. Who cares?
Sensible people who don't think that it's worthwhile educational material?
Nah. I haven’t seen it but it’s the same people who are irrationally angry about it are also the same people who think any criticism of white men is woke or racist or both. You need to get out more
How many lessons at school would have to be missed by watching Adolescence?
If it's more than half, fuck off
Im sure you put this much energy into all other aspects of the curriculum too.
If I had the chance..
Maths would be old school
Nobody gets out of primary school without knowing their times tables, up to 15
I wouldn't get out of primary school now on that metric due to failing maths.
And I have a maths degree.
Very worrying.
Ditto. I have a maths degree also and have never learnt my times tables. People confuse a memory test with actual maths. Learning your times table is not maths. Trouble is learning your times table does not equip you with anything outside of that boundary. Learning maths properly equips you to deal with problems you haven't encountered before.
That's a truly pathetic admission
Learn your times tables, then teach them to someone else
You'll be a better mathematician and person by doing so
No, I wouldn't be. Learning times table by heart would just mean I can calculate things marginally quicker. The hard part of proper maths problems is the logic behind it, not the numerical processing.
I think it's better to have the tools to quickly calculate different sums. I would calculate 13 x 15 the same way as I would 283 x 15. By quickly breaking down each sum into solvable parts. You still get to the result in seconds.
I think that is a far more valuable thing to learn than memorising a set number of multiplications by rote.
I never advocated learning tables by rote
I always teach people tools to calculate them
You did. You said people should learn their times tables. When I said I hadn't but had a maths degree you presumably didn't assume I couldn't work out 7x6 did you? Of course I can. I just don't know it from memory.
Went to Tescos today and paid £2.25 for my broccoli instead a pound, because I forgot my club card. First thing that came to mind was that I felt like I was on the wrong end of one of Trump's tariffs
Download the Tesco app to your phone.
This is part of today's problems....download the app to your phone.....how about we just don't take a phone everywhere and interact
When I leave the house, I'm 99% certain to have my wallet - and therefore my clubcard with me. But only about 75% certain to have a working phone with me.
I also don't really want tobe downoading someone else's software onto my phone. Once, you only needed three apps - one for phoning, one for texting and one for exploring the internet. That's all I want and all I need.
My phone has no apps on it nor does it leave my desk unless I have to go away for work reasons
Went to Tescos today and paid £2.25 for my broccoli instead a pound, because I forgot my club card. First thing that came to mind was that I felt like I was on the wrong end of one of Trump's tariffs
Download the Tesco app to your phone.
This is part of today's problems....download the app to your phone.....how about we just don't take a phone everywhere and interact
When I leave the house, I'm 99% certain to have my wallet - and therefore my clubcard with me. But only about 75% certain to have a working phone with me.
I also don't really want tobe downoading someone else's software onto my phone. Once, you only needed three apps - one for phoning, one for texting and one for exploring the internet. That's all I want and all I need.
Your choice but I suspect you're cutting yourself off from the future.
I spend a lot of time helping people, generally over-75, who have chosen not to join in to the PC/Internet/Smartphone world but who now find themselves digitally excluded. I often wonder whether I will decline to use something that will place me at a similar disadvantage in the future.
Consider this as I am not what you would call a luddite by any means in fact a bit of a geek
If we all adopt cashless Everything accessed via apps etc
We are in effect forcing others to do the same.
These maybe people who are unbanked, they maybe people who cant afford a smartphone. Personally I feel we have a responsibility to ensure such people who cannot join the new tech society whether because of cost or tech disconnect. As time goes by those figures will fall and when the time is right all fine but it is not yet in my view
@BlancheLivermore why do you care so much about a tv series? I haven’t seen it and I don’t care.
Because Starmer has turned it into semi-official propaganda
And he keeps accidentally calling it fact rather than fiction
Is he doing it stupidly or deliberately?
Who cares? There are more important things going on
How dare you
Adolescence is the most important TV show ever
All the lefties, like the PM, told me that already
It must shown in schools, apparently..
Maybe it should be shown in schools. Who cares?
Sensible people who don't think that it's worthwhile educational material?
Nah. I haven’t seen it but it’s the same people who are irrationally angry about it are also the same people who think any criticism of white men is woke or racist or both. You need to get out more
How many lessons at school would have to be missed by watching Adolescence?
If it's more than half, fuck off
Im sure you put this much energy into all other aspects of the curriculum too.
If I had the chance..
Maths would be old school
Nobody gets out of primary school without knowing their times tables, up to 15
I wouldn't get out of primary school now on that metric due to failing maths.
And I have a maths degree.
Very worrying.
Ditto. I have a maths degree also and have never learnt my times tables. People confuse a memory test with actual maths. Learning your times table is not maths. Trouble is learning your times table does not equip you with anything outside of that boundary. Learning maths properly equips you to deal with problems you haven't encountered before.
That's a truly pathetic admission
Learn your times tables, then teach them to someone else
You'll be a better mathematician and person by doing so
Utter, utter utter nonsense. Someone with mathematical ability doesn't need to learn times tables. What is the point?. People who learn by rote usually can't work outside of those parameters or implement in a different scenario. Sure if you don't have that ability learn them, but otherwise it is pointless. I can never do arithmetic on combinations of numbers up to 180 that a darts player can do, but on any other problem I will be better than 99% of them. What is special about multiplication upto 12x12, but nothing else. Why learn just hat by rote. What is better is to teach people how to work stuff out. I have come across so many people who know how to solve a problem they have been taught, but can't solve a different problem which in essence is identical, because they have been taught by rote and not why they are doing what they are doing.
Darts is great for arithmetic.
Re. times tables, it's fine to learn them up to wherever you want. But it's even better to work stuff out. Here's an example. Say you want to multiply two numbers between 10 and 20. Call them 1m and 1n.
All you have to do is this.
1. Lose a 1 and imagine yourself a little map of Africa, like this:
1m _n
2. Perform an addition in yer 'ead, to get T.
3. Take 10T and add on m times n.
4. That's your answer.
Example
_17 x14
Steps 1-2: 21 Steps 3-4: 210 + 28 = 238. Ta-dah!
As for multiplying a number less than 10 with a number between 10 and 20, anyone who can't do that in their 'ead is a bit dim.
So adding together not being dim with the above rule, anyone can do any product up to 20 x 20.
Went to Tescos today and paid £2.25 for my broccoli instead a pound, because I forgot my club card. First thing that came to mind was that I felt like I was on the wrong end of one of Trump's tariffs
Download the Tesco app to your phone.
This is part of today's problems....download the app to your phone.....how about we just don't take a phone everywhere and interact
When I leave the house, I'm 99% certain to have my wallet - and therefore my clubcard with me. But only about 75% certain to have a working phone with me.
I also don't really want tobe downoading someone else's software onto my phone. Once, you only needed three apps - one for phoning, one for texting and one for exploring the internet. That's all I want and all I need.
Your choice but I suspect you're cutting yourself off from the future.
I spend a lot of time helping people, generally over-75, who have chosen not to join in to the PC/Internet/Smartphone world but who now find themselves digitally excluded. I often wonder whether I will decline to use something that will place me at a similar disadvantage in the future - hopefully not.
We lost my mum last year. She had looked after the online stuff for her and my dad, things like booking tickets for the rugby, flights etc. When she died dad decided to get rid of all the ‘internet stuff’. I’m a bit sad for him as there is much out there that he would enjoy, but he is set in his ways at 85.
Went to Tescos today and paid £2.25 for my broccoli instead a pound, because I forgot my club card. First thing that came to mind was that I felt like I was on the wrong end of one of Trump's tariffs
Download the Tesco app to your phone.
This is part of today's problems....download the app to your phone.....how about we just don't take a phone everywhere and interact
When I leave the house, I'm 99% certain to have my wallet - and therefore my clubcard with me. But only about 75% certain to have a working phone with me.
I also don't really want tobe downoading someone else's software onto my phone. Once, you only needed three apps - one for phoning, one for texting and one for exploring the internet. That's all I want and all I need.
My phone has no apps on it nor does it leave my desk unless I have to go away for work reasons
Yeah, I had one of those back in the 70s.
Serious question here so please dont dismiss it
If requiring cashless and phone apps for everything what portion of the populace would you be happy to exclude to make it happen?
Went to Tescos today and paid £2.25 for my broccoli instead a pound, because I forgot my club card. First thing that came to mind was that I felt like I was on the wrong end of one of Trump's tariffs
Download the Tesco app to your phone.
This is part of today's problems....download the app to your phone.....how about we just don't take a phone everywhere and interact
When I leave the house, I'm 99% certain to have my wallet - and therefore my clubcard with me. But only about 75% certain to have a working phone with me.
I also don't really want tobe downoading someone else's software onto my phone. Once, you only needed three apps - one for phoning, one for texting and one for exploring the internet. That's all I want and all I need.
My phone has no apps on it nor does it leave my desk unless I have to go away for work reasons
A few years ago we took the mother in law to Yorkshire for a holiday. One day we became separated. Hunted high and low but in the end decided to return to the car. No answer on her mobile. Because the bloody thing was back at the holiday cottage. I mean, why would you need a mobile phone…
Went to Tescos today and paid £2.25 for my broccoli instead a pound, because I forgot my club card. First thing that came to mind was that I felt like I was on the wrong end of one of Trump's tariffs
Download the Tesco app to your phone.
This is part of today's problems....download the app to your phone.....how about we just don't take a phone everywhere and interact
When I leave the house, I'm 99% certain to have my wallet - and therefore my clubcard with me. But only about 75% certain to have a working phone with me.
I also don't really want tobe downoading someone else's software onto my phone. Once, you only needed three apps - one for phoning, one for texting and one for exploring the internet. That's all I want and all I need.
Your choice but I suspect you're cutting yourself off from the future.
I spend a lot of time helping people, generally over-75, who have chosen not to join in to the PC/Internet/Smartphone world but who now find themselves digitally excluded. I often wonder whether I will decline to use something that will place me at a similar disadvantage in the future - hopefully not.
I think there is a natural tendency to think, in terms of tech 'but life is fine now!'. Beyond that point, the advantages of being able to do the new thing no longer appear to outweigh the disadvantages. For me, that point was reached in the very early days of internet enabled mobile phones. Anything you need to download a specific app to do - well, it's a password to remember, it's something to port over to your new phone, it's a programme on a device which follows you around not to trust. I don't want not to be able to turn my lights on because I can't remember my password. There is not one app - beyond an internet explorer proxy - I use that I do not use reluctantly.
Went to Tescos today and paid £2.25 for my broccoli instead a pound, because I forgot my club card. First thing that came to mind was that I felt like I was on the wrong end of one of Trump's tariffs
Download the Tesco app to your phone.
This is part of today's problems....download the app to your phone.....how about we just don't take a phone everywhere and interact
When I leave the house, I'm 99% certain to have my wallet - and therefore my clubcard with me. But only about 75% certain to have a working phone with me.
I also don't really want tobe downoading someone else's software onto my phone. Once, you only needed three apps - one for phoning, one for texting and one for exploring the internet. That's all I want and all I need.
My phone has no apps on it nor does it leave my desk unless I have to go away for work reasons
A few years ago we took the mother in law to Yorkshire for a holiday. One day we became separated. Hunted high and low but in the end decided to return to the car. No answer on her mobile. Because the bloody thing was back at the holiday cottage. I mean, why would you need a mobile phone…
What woould you have done before mobile phones. Sorry the reason I don't carry mine is precisely because if I go out I don't want people ringing me constantly. I won't out to do something not answer random phone calls I didn't actually want and if I go out to a pub with a friend and they start to spend more time answering calls and texts I say.....we will go out when you are less busy and leave because that is what a mobile phone seems to mean to most.
Lets go out but I will ignore you for my phone most of the time and if thats the case then they can fuck off
Went to Tescos today and paid £2.25 for my broccoli instead a pound, because I forgot my club card. First thing that came to mind was that I felt like I was on the wrong end of one of Trump's tariffs
Download the Tesco app to your phone.
This is part of today's problems....download the app to your phone.....how about we just don't take a phone everywhere and interact
When I leave the house, I'm 99% certain to have my wallet - and therefore my clubcard with me. But only about 75% certain to have a working phone with me.
I also don't really want tobe downoading someone else's software onto my phone. Once, you only needed three apps - one for phoning, one for texting and one for exploring the internet. That's all I want and all I need.
They used to, and maybe still do provide little keychain fobs with your barcode on:
Bit tacky, though.
Tesco is fine. My clubcard lives in my wallet. Sainsburys is more of a PITA, because to access most of the nectar vouchers you need it in your phone. Though I do have a dummy Nectar card for when I don't have my phone - no points but I can access the discounts.
Went to Tescos today and paid £2.25 for my broccoli instead a pound, because I forgot my club card. First thing that came to mind was that I felt like I was on the wrong end of one of Trump's tariffs
Download the Tesco app to your phone.
This is part of today's problems....download the app to your phone.....how about we just don't take a phone everywhere and interact
When I leave the house, I'm 99% certain to have my wallet - and therefore my clubcard with me. But only about 75% certain to have a working phone with me.
I also don't really want tobe downoading someone else's software onto my phone. Once, you only needed three apps - one for phoning, one for texting and one for exploring the internet. That's all I want and all I need.
My phone has no apps on it nor does it leave my desk unless I have to go away for work reasons
Yeah, I had one of those back in the 70s.
Serious question here so please dont dismiss it
If requiring cashless and phone apps for everything what portion of the populace would you be happy to exclude to make it happen?
It would be good if there were a law against discriminating against people not carrying one of those wretched devices.
Although I was thinking this afternoon what the advice should be to a non-twatstick user who goes somewhere where there's a lot of street stickup crime, where the usual advice is when you see a gun pointed at you, hand over your wallet, bank cards, and phone. E.g. Brazil and many other places. The advice might be to carry a twatstick so you can hand it over, because the stickup merchant might not believe you if you were to say "Steady on, old chepp, I'd examine my assumptions if I were you."
Went to Tescos today and paid £2.25 for my broccoli instead a pound, because I forgot my club card. First thing that came to mind was that I felt like I was on the wrong end of one of Trump's tariffs
Download the Tesco app to your phone.
This is part of today's problems....download the app to your phone.....how about we just don't take a phone everywhere and interact
When I leave the house, I'm 99% certain to have my wallet - and therefore my clubcard with me. But only about 75% certain to have a working phone with me.
I also don't really want tobe downoading someone else's software onto my phone. Once, you only needed three apps - one for phoning, one for texting and one for exploring the internet. That's all I want and all I need.
My phone has no apps on it nor does it leave my desk unless I have to go away for work reasons
A few years ago we took the mother in law to Yorkshire for a holiday. One day we became separated. Hunted high and low but in the end decided to return to the car. No answer on her mobile. Because the bloody thing was back at the holiday cottage. I mean, why would you need a mobile phone…
What woould you have done before mobile phones. Sorry the reason I don't carry mine is precisely because if I go out I don't want people ringing me constantly. I won't out to do something not answer random phone calls I didn't actually want and if I go out to a pub with a friend and they start to spend more time answering calls and texts I say.....we will go out when you are less busy and leave because that is what a mobile phone seems to mean to most.
Lets go out but I will ignore you for my phone most of the time and if thats the case then they can fuck off
I’m old enough to remember going out and meeting up before mobile phones. I was hold out against them for quite a while. And you do have a point about people using them when in company.
Went to Tescos today and paid £2.25 for my broccoli instead a pound, because I forgot my club card. First thing that came to mind was that I felt like I was on the wrong end of one of Trump's tariffs
Download the Tesco app to your phone.
This is part of today's problems....download the app to your phone.....how about we just don't take a phone everywhere and interact
When I leave the house, I'm 99% certain to have my wallet - and therefore my clubcard with me. But only about 75% certain to have a working phone with me.
I also don't really want tobe downoading someone else's software onto my phone. Once, you only needed three apps - one for phoning, one for texting and one for exploring the internet. That's all I want and all I need.
Your choice but I suspect you're cutting yourself off from the future.
I spend a lot of time helping people, generally over-75, who have chosen not to join in to the PC/Internet/Smartphone world but who now find themselves digitally excluded. I often wonder whether I will decline to use something that will place me at a similar disadvantage in the future.
Consider this as I am not what you would call a luddite by any means in fact a bit of a geek
If we all adopt cashless Everything accessed via apps etc
We are in effect forcing others to do the same.
These maybe people who are unbanked, they maybe people who cant afford a smartphone. Personally I feel we have a responsibility to ensure such people who cannot join the new tech society whether because of cost or tech disconnect. As time goes by those figures will fall and when the time is right all fine but it is not yet in my view
I'm all for supporting those who genuinely cannot adopt cashless but I don't think refusing to adopt it myself will hold back the tide. Of course if enough did refuse it would be effective but that's never going to happening and me personally resisting would be like Canute trying to stop the tide.
Better to encourage and support those who are a bit scared of tech to adopt it imo.
My 93 yo father-in-law has never touched a computer or mobile phone in his life and never will now but boy does it piss him off how excluded that leaves him. Not a day goes past without him moaning about how unfair it is that everything's switched to apps/online etc.
Americans may need to have vaccination certificates in order to travel. We should not let this mindless idiocy become a threat to our own public health.
It would be ridiculous to single out Americans when we've been putting public health at risk by letting unscreened people into the country for years.
Went to Tescos today and paid £2.25 for my broccoli instead a pound, because I forgot my club card. First thing that came to mind was that I felt like I was on the wrong end of one of Trump's tariffs
Download the Tesco app to your phone.
This is part of today's problems....download the app to your phone.....how about we just don't take a phone everywhere and interact
When I leave the house, I'm 99% certain to have my wallet - and therefore my clubcard with me. But only about 75% certain to have a working phone with me.
I also don't really want tobe downoading someone else's software onto my phone. Once, you only needed three apps - one for phoning, one for texting and one for exploring the internet. That's all I want and all I need.
My phone has no apps on it nor does it leave my desk unless I have to go away for work reasons
A few years ago we took the mother in law to Yorkshire for a holiday. One day we became separated. Hunted high and low but in the end decided to return to the car. No answer on her mobile. Because the bloody thing was back at the holiday cottage. I mean, why would you need a mobile phone…
What woould you have done before mobile phones. Sorry the reason I don't carry mine is precisely because if I go out I don't want people ringing me constantly. I won't out to do something not answer random phone calls I didn't actually want and if I go out to a pub with a friend and they start to spend more time answering calls and texts I say.....we will go out when you are less busy and leave because that is what a mobile phone seems to mean to most.
Lets go out but I will ignore you for my phone most of the time and if thats the case then they can fuck off
I’m old enough to remember going out and meeting up before mobile phones. I was hold out against them for quite a while. And you do have a point about people using them when in company.
There have been more than one person I used to know that I have parted company with due to going out for a few pints with them and them spending more time on the phone than chatting and just said you know what forget it
Went to Tescos today and paid £2.25 for my broccoli instead a pound, because I forgot my club card. First thing that came to mind was that I felt like I was on the wrong end of one of Trump's tariffs
Download the Tesco app to your phone.
This is part of today's problems....download the app to your phone.....how about we just don't take a phone everywhere and interact
When I leave the house, I'm 99% certain to have my wallet - and therefore my clubcard with me. But only about 75% certain to have a working phone with me.
I also don't really want tobe downoading someone else's software onto my phone. Once, you only needed three apps - one for phoning, one for texting and one for exploring the internet. That's all I want and all I need.
They used to, and maybe still do provide little keychain fobs with your barcode on:
Bit tacky, though.
Cool kids cut out the square with the QR code on it and only carry that.
Bond yields, the dollar and global stocks are an antidote to the Trump reality distortion field. Unlike election fraud or condoms to Gaza and the like, he can’t create numbers out of thin air. When money is on the line, if investors don’t believe him, they will sell.
Wasn't there a suggestion that Trump wants to have Whitehouse approved economic statistics in case things turn south? It probably sounds like a good idea to him, but the people with money will not play ball.
Ooh like doing a budget but not letting the OBR give forecasts on its impact.
Bond yields, the dollar and global stocks are an antidote to the Trump reality distortion field. Unlike election fraud or condoms to Gaza and the like, he can’t create numbers out of thin air. When money is on the line, if investors don’t believe him, they will sell.
Wasn't there a suggestion that Trump wants to have Whitehouse approved economic statistics in case things turn south? It probably sounds like a good idea to him, but the people with money will not play ball.
Ooh like doing a budget but not letting the OBR give forecasts on its impact.
Nothing could possibly go wrong.
IIRC the suggestion was that they might have Trump approved GDP and inflation figures. "You might think everything seems more expensive but inflation is down. The economy is booming, those factories didn't close, the workers all decided to retire early."
Went to Tescos today and paid £2.25 for my broccoli instead a pound, because I forgot my club card. First thing that came to mind was that I felt like I was on the wrong end of one of Trump's tariffs
Download the Tesco app to your phone.
This is part of today's problems....download the app to your phone.....how about we just don't take a phone everywhere and interact
When I leave the house, I'm 99% certain to have my wallet - and therefore my clubcard with me. But only about 75% certain to have a working phone with me.
I also don't really want tobe downoading someone else's software onto my phone. Once, you only needed three apps - one for phoning, one for texting and one for exploring the internet. That's all I want and all I need.
Your choice but I suspect you're cutting yourself off from the future.
I spend a lot of time helping people, generally over-75, who have chosen not to join in to the PC/Internet/Smartphone world but who now find themselves digitally excluded. I often wonder whether I will decline to use something that will place me at a similar disadvantage in the future.
Consider this as I am not what you would call a luddite by any means in fact a bit of a geek
If we all adopt cashless Everything accessed via apps etc
We are in effect forcing others to do the same.
These maybe people who are unbanked, they maybe people who cant afford a smartphone. Personally I feel we have a responsibility to ensure such people who cannot join the new tech society whether because of cost or tech disconnect. As time goes by those figures will fall and when the time is right all fine but it is not yet in my view
I'm all for supporting those who genuinely cannot adopt cashless but I don't think refusing to adopt it myself will hold back the tide. Of course if enough did refuse it would be effective but that's never going to happening and me personally resisting would be like Canute trying to stop the tide.
Better to encourage and support those who are a bit scared of tech to adopt it imo.
My 93 yo father-in-law has never touched a computer or mobile phone in his life and never will now but boy does it piss him off how excluded that leaves him. Not a day goes past without him moaning about how unfair it is that everything's switched to apps/online etc.
Countries that were far ahead of us on cashless adoption are now realising complete cashless is a bad idea for security reasons such as sweden....maybe we should pay attention
@BlancheLivermore why do you care so much about a tv series? I haven’t seen it and I don’t care.
Because Starmer has turned it into semi-official propaganda
And he keeps accidentally calling it fact rather than fiction
Is he doing it stupidly or deliberately?
Who cares? There are more important things going on
How dare you
Adolescence is the most important TV show ever
All the lefties, like the PM, told me that already
It must shown in schools, apparently..
Maybe it should be shown in schools. Who cares?
Sensible people who don't think that it's worthwhile educational material?
Nah. I haven’t seen it but it’s the same people who are irrationally angry about it are also the same people who think any criticism of white men is woke or racist or both. You need to get out more
How many lessons at school would have to be missed by watching Adolescence?
If it's more than half, fuck off
Im sure you put this much energy into all other aspects of the curriculum too.
If I had the chance..
Maths would be old school
Nobody gets out of primary school without knowing their times tables, up to 15
I wouldn't get out of primary school now on that metric due to failing maths.
And I have a maths degree.
Very worrying.
Ditto. I have a maths degree also and have never learnt my times tables. People confuse a memory test with actual maths. Learning your times table is not maths. Trouble is learning your times table does not equip you with anything outside of that boundary. Learning maths properly equips you to deal with problems you haven't encountered before.
That's a truly pathetic admission
Learn your times tables, then teach them to someone else
You'll be a better mathematician and person by doing so
Utter, utter utter nonsense. Someone with mathematical ability doesn't need to learn times tables. What is the point?. People who learn by rote usually can't work outside of those parameters or implement in a different scenario. Sure if you don't have that ability learn them, but otherwise it is pointless. I can never do arithmetic on combinations of numbers up to 180 that a darts player can do, but on any other problem I will be better than 99% of them. What is special about multiplication upto 12x12, but nothing else. Why learn just hat by rote. What is better is to teach people how to work stuff out. I have come across so many people who know how to solve a problem they have been taught, but can't solve a different problem which in essence is identical, because they have been taught by rote and not why they are doing what they are doing.
Darts is great for arithmetic.
Re. times tables, it's fine to learn them up to wherever you want. But it's even better to work stuff out. Here's an example. Say you want to multiply two numbers between 10 and 20. Call them 1m and 1n.
All you have to do is this.
1. Lose a 1 and imagine yourself a little map of Africa, like this:
1m _n
2. Perform an addition in yer 'ead, to get T.
3. Take 10T and add on m times n.
4. That's your answer.
Example
_17 x14
Steps 1-2: 21 Steps 3-4: 210 + 28 = 238. Ta-dah!
As for multiplying a number less than 10 with a number between 10 and 20, anyone who can't do that in their 'ead is a bit dim.
So adding together not being dim with the above rule, anyone can do any product up to 20 x 20.
Agree. I can work out any multiplication upto 15x15 as @BlancheLivermore wants and much higher even, in my head. Why the hell should I memorise them as per 'Old School' maths seems to require. Spend more time teaching actual useful maths and less time memorising stuff that is very limited in its usefulness.
The elder Cuomo once said "You campaign in poetry. You govern in prose."
He was wrong, of course: You should, mostly, campaign in prose, and, on many subjects, govern in numbers. For example: Should elected officials in the UK watch a striking story on TV, or should they look at the look at trends in crime?
They can do both, and should if they have time, but if they are considering what policy changes to make, they should spend most of their time with the numbers.
Naturally, good politicians will illustrate their arguments to the public, with stories.
There is not one app - beyond an internet explorer proxy - I use that I do not use reluctantly.
How do you pay bills?
Are you still putting cheques in the post?
Most use the internet....just don't need a phone app I am connected to 24/7....most bills for a start are monthly
Yes, me too - I bank online but when I am sat at a computer. No-one needs paying that instantly. Or if they do, First Direct still answer the phone.
Some top apps I've started using in the past year:
- Passenger Assist. for booking ramps, wheelchair spaces, assistance etc. on trains. Works like a dream, a simple but brilliant app. - Reolink. Alerts from a 4G solar-powered camera at our building plot whenever anything moves on it. - HMRC app - surprisingly good.
Others I've been using longer, I wouldn't be without:
- Safari, Mail, Contacts, Notes, Wallet, Maps, Home, Camera - Halifax bank - quicker and better than than online banking via a browser - Met Office - still the best UK forecasts - Waitrose: use your phone to scan as you shop, better than their in-house scanners.
I confess I do have a lot of crap apps on my phone I have only used once or twice and need to get rid of though.
Question on eVtols: Would they require less investment in infrastructure than rail or road transport? (It seems to me that they would, but I have seen no numbers on the question.)
Went to Tescos today and paid £2.25 for my broccoli instead a pound, because I forgot my club card. First thing that came to mind was that I felt like I was on the wrong end of one of Trump's tariffs
Download the Tesco app to your phone.
This is part of today's problems....download the app to your phone.....how about we just don't take a phone everywhere and interact
When I leave the house, I'm 99% certain to have my wallet - and therefore my clubcard with me. But only about 75% certain to have a working phone with me.
I also don't really want tobe downoading someone else's software onto my phone. Once, you only needed three apps - one for phoning, one for texting and one for exploring the internet. That's all I want and all I need.
My phone has no apps on it nor does it leave my desk unless I have to go away for work reasons
A few years ago we took the mother in law to Yorkshire for a holiday. One day we became separated. Hunted high and low but in the end decided to return to the car. No answer on her mobile. Because the bloody thing was back at the holiday cottage. I mean, why would you need a mobile phone…
What woould you have done before mobile phones. Sorry the reason I don't carry mine is precisely because if I go out I don't want people ringing me constantly. I won't out to do something not answer random phone calls I didn't actually want and if I go out to a pub with a friend and they start to spend more time answering calls and texts I say.....we will go out when you are less busy and leave because that is what a mobile phone seems to mean to most.
Lets go out but I will ignore you for my phone most of the time and if thats the case then they can fuck off
People hardly ever ring me. If they do, and I'm busy they can leave a voicemail. Texts can be answered tomorrow.
I take a mobile phone with me because it is a useful portable computer. I can do most of my basic computing jobs on it, access the Internet, pay bills, book holidays, find out where I am and how to get home, and keep in touch with people
Went to Tescos today and paid £2.25 for my broccoli instead a pound, because I forgot my club card. First thing that came to mind was that I felt like I was on the wrong end of one of Trump's tariffs
Download the Tesco app to your phone.
This is part of today's problems....download the app to your phone.....how about we just don't take a phone everywhere and interact
When I leave the house, I'm 99% certain to have my wallet - and therefore my clubcard with me. But only about 75% certain to have a working phone with me.
I also don't really want tobe downoading someone else's software onto my phone. Once, you only needed three apps - one for phoning, one for texting and one for exploring the internet. That's all I want and all I need.
Your choice but I suspect you're cutting yourself off from the future.
I spend a lot of time helping people, generally over-75, who have chosen not to join in to the PC/Internet/Smartphone world but who now find themselves digitally excluded. I often wonder whether I will decline to use something that will place me at a similar disadvantage in the future - hopefully not.
I think there is a natural tendency to think, in terms of tech 'but life is fine now!'. Beyond that point, the advantages of being able to do the new thing no longer appear to outweigh the disadvantages. For me, that point was reached in the very early days of internet enabled mobile phones. Anything you need to download a specific app to do - well, it's a password to remember, it's something to port over to your new phone, it's a programme on a device which follows you around not to trust. I don't want not to be able to turn my lights on because I can't remember my password. There is not one app - beyond an internet explorer proxy - I use that I do not use reluctantly.
I don't use apps at all, unless applications on laptops are now being called apps as well.
Went to Tescos today and paid £2.25 for my broccoli instead a pound, because I forgot my club card. First thing that came to mind was that I felt like I was on the wrong end of one of Trump's tariffs
Download the Tesco app to your phone.
This is part of today's problems....download the app to your phone.....how about we just don't take a phone everywhere and interact
When I leave the house, I'm 99% certain to have my wallet - and therefore my clubcard with me. But only about 75% certain to have a working phone with me.
I also don't really want tobe downoading someone else's software onto my phone. Once, you only needed three apps - one for phoning, one for texting and one for exploring the internet. That's all I want and all I need.
My phone has no apps on it nor does it leave my desk unless I have to go away for work reasons
A few years ago we took the mother in law to Yorkshire for a holiday. One day we became separated. Hunted high and low but in the end decided to return to the car. No answer on her mobile. Because the bloody thing was back at the holiday cottage. I mean, why would you need a mobile phone…
What woould you have done before mobile phones. Sorry the reason I don't carry mine is precisely because if I go out I don't want people ringing me constantly. I won't out to do something not answer random phone calls I didn't actually want and if I go out to a pub with a friend and they start to spend more time answering calls and texts I say.....we will go out when you are less busy and leave because that is what a mobile phone seems to mean to most.
Lets go out but I will ignore you for my phone most of the time and if thats the case then they can fuck off
I recently had a go at someone who when I asked her why on earth she had a Kindle, replied that she wanted it so she could read stuff when waiting for medical appointments. She is a classic case of someone who's been lowballed. She has a medical appointment about 3-4 times a year.
Went to Tescos today and paid £2.25 for my broccoli instead a pound, because I forgot my club card. First thing that came to mind was that I felt like I was on the wrong end of one of Trump's tariffs
Download the Tesco app to your phone.
This is part of today's problems....download the app to your phone.....how about we just don't take a phone everywhere and interact
When I leave the house, I'm 99% certain to have my wallet - and therefore my clubcard with me. But only about 75% certain to have a working phone with me.
I also don't really want tobe downoading someone else's software onto my phone. Once, you only needed three apps - one for phoning, one for texting and one for exploring the internet. That's all I want and all I need.
My phone has no apps on it nor does it leave my desk unless I have to go away for work reasons
Yeah, I had one of those back in the 70s.
Serious question here so please dont dismiss it
If requiring cashless and phone apps for everything what portion of the populace would you be happy to exclude to make it happen?
Zero. 0% But I'm not really a cashless society advocate - I just don't use it myself.
I think it's better to encourage and help people to get on board themselves if they can rather than resist generally beneficial change myself.
UC has probably been the largest driver of increased IT adoption in recent years. It's very difficult to claim without a smartphone or PC.
Philippe Sands is awesome, proving lawyers are the best of humanity.
Britain is backing plans for a Nuremberg-style trial of Vladimir Putin in the face of opposition from Donald Trump.
The UK will support proposals at the Council of Europe next month calling for Russians to be prosecuted for “crimes of aggression” during the invasion of Ukraine.
The idea would involve setting up a military tribunal, modelled on the Nazi trials after the Second World War, to prosecute Russian leaders and generals for war crimes.
Some lawyers, including Sir Keir Starmer’s long-time friend Philippe Sands, have suggested the ad hoc court should be established specifically to deal with crimes of aggression, which are defined by the United Nations as “invasion or attack by the armed forces of a state on the territory of another state, or any military occupation”.
Some Western countries, including the UK, have said that Russians should be tried on those grounds for the political decision to invade, not only for war crimes committed on Ukrainian soil once the war began.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague cannot examine the “crime of aggression”, and is not recognised by either Russia or the US.
The plan for a new court to examine crimes of aggression was first suggested in 2022. It was backed by the Ukrainian government and Joe Biden’s administration, which sent funding and American prosecutors to help set it up.
However, Donald Trump withdrew all US involvement in the plan after his inauguration in January, as part of his strategy to be more conciliatory towards Moscow.
It isn't a suitable for schools. Maybe teachers or Post 16 Media Sudies. It is too easy to misinterpreted, as we see here, even with those who have actually watched it.
Adolescence has a 15 certificate.
So showing it to sub 15 would be a safeguarding breach?
Went to Tescos today and paid £2.25 for my broccoli instead a pound, because I forgot my club card. First thing that came to mind was that I felt like I was on the wrong end of one of Trump's tariffs
Download the Tesco app to your phone.
This is part of today's problems....download the app to your phone.....how about we just don't take a phone everywhere and interact
When I leave the house, I'm 99% certain to have my wallet - and therefore my clubcard with me. But only about 75% certain to have a working phone with me.
I also don't really want tobe downoading someone else's software onto my phone. Once, you only needed three apps - one for phoning, one for texting and one for exploring the internet. That's all I want and all I need.
My phone has no apps on it nor does it leave my desk unless I have to go away for work reasons
A few years ago we took the mother in law to Yorkshire for a holiday. One day we became separated. Hunted high and low but in the end decided to return to the car. No answer on her mobile. Because the bloody thing was back at the holiday cottage. I mean, why would you need a mobile phone…
What woould you have done before mobile phones. Sorry the reason I don't carry mine is precisely because if I go out I don't want people ringing me constantly. I won't out to do something not answer random phone calls I didn't actually want and if I go out to a pub with a friend and they start to spend more time answering calls and texts I say.....we will go out when you are less busy and leave because that is what a mobile phone seems to mean to most.
Lets go out but I will ignore you for my phone most of the time and if thats the case then they can fuck off
People hardly ever ring me. If they do, and I'm busy they can leave a voicemail. Texts can be answered tomorrow.
I take a mobile phone with me because it is a useful portable computer. I can do most of my basic computing jobs on it, access the Internet, pay bills, book holidays, find out where I am and how to get home, and keep in touch with people
I also still listen to music on an ipod, which I load with music using a laptop and a usb connection. Because tech truly was absolutely fine in 2008.
Tech developments since 2008 have arguably made life worse. For example without social media i dont think we would have seen the rise of Trump. The smartphone has ruined many nights out as people no longer live in the moment.
I also still listen to music on an ipod, which I load with music using a laptop and a usb connection. Because tech truly was absolutely fine in 2008.
Tech developments since 2008 have arguably made life worse. For example without social media i dont think we would have seen the rise of Trump. The smartphone has ruined many nights out as people no longer live in the moment.
Some friends have tried the following. Get a Nokia £10 phone. Swap the sim over.
So the kids/babysitter can contact you, but no smartphone…
These pylons are going to be very close to where I live. The natives are pretty restless!
I was surprised to see that a poll showed people would consider £250 a year off their electricity bills sufficient compensation; myself and a few mates all agreed we’d each happily pay a grand a year extra to not have the pylons built
Went to Tescos today and paid £2.25 for my broccoli instead a pound, because I forgot my club card. First thing that came to mind was that I felt like I was on the wrong end of one of Trump's tariffs
Download the Tesco app to your phone.
This is part of today's problems....download the app to your phone.....how about we just don't take a phone everywhere and interact
When I leave the house, I'm 99% certain to have my wallet - and therefore my clubcard with me. But only about 75% certain to have a working phone with me.
I also don't really want tobe downoading someone else's software onto my phone. Once, you only needed three apps - one for phoning, one for texting and one for exploring the internet. That's all I want and all I need.
They used to, and maybe still do provide little keychain fobs with your barcode on:
Bit tacky, though.
Cool kids cut out the square with the QR code on it and only carry that.
The coolest kids get their tesco clubcard QR code tattooed in the middle of their forehead.
Went to Tescos today and paid £2.25 for my broccoli instead a pound, because I forgot my club card. First thing that came to mind was that I felt like I was on the wrong end of one of Trump's tariffs
Download the Tesco app to your phone.
This is part of today's problems....download the app to your phone.....how about we just don't take a phone everywhere and interact
When I leave the house, I'm 99% certain to have my wallet - and therefore my clubcard with me. But only about 75% certain to have a working phone with me.
I also don't really want tobe downoading someone else's software onto my phone. Once, you only needed three apps - one for phoning, one for texting and one for exploring the internet. That's all I want and all I need.
My phone has no apps on it nor does it leave my desk unless I have to go away for work reasons
A few years ago we took the mother in law to Yorkshire for a holiday. One day we became separated. Hunted high and low but in the end decided to return to the car. No answer on her mobile. Because the bloody thing was back at the holiday cottage. I mean, why would you need a mobile phone…
What woould you have done before mobile phones. Sorry the reason I don't carry mine is precisely because if I go out I don't want people ringing me constantly. I won't out to do something not answer random phone calls I didn't actually want and if I go out to a pub with a friend and they start to spend more time answering calls and texts I say.....we will go out when you are less busy and leave because that is what a mobile phone seems to mean to most.
Lets go out but I will ignore you for my phone most of the time and if thats the case then they can fuck off
People hardly ever ring me. If they do, and I'm busy they can leave a voicemail. Texts can be answered tomorrow.
I take a mobile phone with me because it is a useful portable computer. I can do most of my basic computing jobs on it, access the Internet, pay bills, book holidays, find out where I am and how to get home, and keep in touch with people
Similarly here. My 'phone' is still a somewhat resented 'expensive iPod' for me however.
Once a week it tells me I spend 20-30 minutes a day on it - most of which is my podcast app or the kodi-remote app to skip through TV shows.
According to the Times the 10% tariff could remain on the UK even if there’s a deal and the government is now trying to just get the tariff reduced on cars .
If this really is true then it’s a total humiliation for no 10.
Went to Tescos today and paid £2.25 for my broccoli instead a pound, because I forgot my club card. First thing that came to mind was that I felt like I was on the wrong end of one of Trump's tariffs
Download the Tesco app to your phone.
This is part of today's problems....download the app to your phone.....how about we just don't take a phone everywhere and interact
When I leave the house, I'm 99% certain to have my wallet - and therefore my clubcard with me. But only about 75% certain to have a working phone with me.
I also don't really want tobe downoading someone else's software onto my phone. Once, you only needed three apps - one for phoning, one for texting and one for exploring the internet. That's all I want and all I need.
My phone has no apps on it nor does it leave my desk unless I have to go away for work reasons
A few years ago we took the mother in law to Yorkshire for a holiday. One day we became separated. Hunted high and low but in the end decided to return to the car. No answer on her mobile. Because the bloody thing was back at the holiday cottage. I mean, why would you need a mobile phone…
What woould you have done before mobile phones. Sorry the reason I don't carry mine is precisely because if I go out I don't want people ringing me constantly. I won't out to do something not answer random phone calls I didn't actually want and if I go out to a pub with a friend and they start to spend more time answering calls and texts I say.....we will go out when you are less busy and leave because that is what a mobile phone seems to mean to most.
Lets go out but I will ignore you for my phone most of the time and if thats the case then they can fuck off
I recently had a go at someone who when I asked her why on earth she had a Kindle, replied that she wanted it so she could read stuff when waiting for medical appointments. She is a classic case of someone who's been lowballed. She has a medical appointment about 3-4 times a year.
That's something else you can do on a mobile phone, especially if infrequently - if you read ebooks often, I suppose you might prefer something bigger.
I would think TV as a trigger highly unlikely. My eldest lad demonstrated peculiar traits from a very, very young age. When he started crawling he crawled backwards and at this point getting himself out of corners was nigh on impossible. He was noticeably different from similarly aged children including his brother.
The debilitating element of the condition was social interaction. He was viewed as weird from aged around two and a half by his peers. That continues today. Communication skills including speech and language were slow and not because he was glued to the Teletubbies. Throughout his life he has focused on a particular interest, and I mean focused. It is the only focus in the moment. Firstly it was Thomas the Tank Engine, apparently young autistic boys relate to the faces on the engines (toys, books and on screen). There is certainly a marked neurodiversity about him. He thinks differently to others, and it was notable before he started watching Bob the Builder. He's quite smart, he has a 2:1 programming degree, although he didn't do well at GCSEs and got where he is today via a BTec route, but he only reads stuff that is of interest to him (he passed his driving theory test on the second attempt and a practical driving test on the first) and his general knowledge is shockingly poor. He doesn't assimilate information well but can function well using routine. He is rules based so he meticulously adheres to speed limits and he is unnaturally polite. He is learning Japanese at evening classes. He is different, well different and not just "a bit peculiar"!
So why the burgeoning rates of autism diagnosis? Now I am sceptical when Leon claims, for example, Theresa May is "on the spectrum" because she is "awkward". There is more to it than that, although perhaps over diagnosing awkward people as neurodiverse is an issue that should be looked at and avoided. Sometimes naughty boys are just naughty, and pinning it on ADHD and/or autism is simply a handy hook to hang it on. Perhaps in that instance they watched too much TV.
Went to Tescos today and paid £2.25 for my broccoli instead a pound, because I forgot my club card. First thing that came to mind was that I felt like I was on the wrong end of one of Trump's tariffs
Download the Tesco app to your phone.
This is part of today's problems....download the app to your phone.....how about we just don't take a phone everywhere and interact
When I leave the house, I'm 99% certain to have my wallet - and therefore my clubcard with me. But only about 75% certain to have a working phone with me.
I also don't really want tobe downoading someone else's software onto my phone. Once, you only needed three apps - one for phoning, one for texting and one for exploring the internet. That's all I want and all I need.
My phone has no apps on it nor does it leave my desk unless I have to go away for work reasons
A few years ago we took the mother in law to Yorkshire for a holiday. One day we became separated. Hunted high and low but in the end decided to return to the car. No answer on her mobile. Because the bloody thing was back at the holiday cottage. I mean, why would you need a mobile phone…
What woould you have done before mobile phones. Sorry the reason I don't carry mine is precisely because if I go out I don't want people ringing me constantly. I won't out to do something not answer random phone calls I didn't actually want and if I go out to a pub with a friend and they start to spend more time answering calls and texts I say.....we will go out when you are less busy and leave because that is what a mobile phone seems to mean to most.
Lets go out but I will ignore you for my phone most of the time and if thats the case then they can fuck off
I recently had a go at someone who when I asked her why on earth she had a Kindle, replied that she wanted it so she could read stuff when waiting for medical appointments. She is a classic case of someone who's been lowballed. She has a medical appointment about 3-4 times a year.
I love my kindle. For boring reasons my two year old still sleeps in our room and the kindle means I can read under the duvet like a naughty10 year old, but without the torch.
This is significant. Gives us a first glimpse of who controlled the events of the last 48 hours. Bessent was critical in talking Trump down from his tariff ledge. And Navarro was over ruled - and is now paying the political price ..
According to the Times the 10% tariff could remain on the UK even if there’s a deal and the government is now trying to just get the tariff reduced on cars .
If this really is true then it’s a total humiliation for no 10.
Why? If Trump really means it when he says 10% is permanent everyone will be in the same boat.
Only a humiliation if we get worse terms than others.
This is significant. Gives us a first glimpse of who controlled the events of the last 48 hours. Bessent was critical in talking Trump down from his tariff ledge. And Navarro was over ruled - and is now paying the political price ..
Went to Tescos today and paid £2.25 for my broccoli instead a pound, because I forgot my club card. First thing that came to mind was that I felt like I was on the wrong end of one of Trump's tariffs
Download the Tesco app to your phone.
This is part of today's problems....download the app to your phone.....how about we just don't take a phone everywhere and interact
When I leave the house, I'm 99% certain to have my wallet - and therefore my clubcard with me. But only about 75% certain to have a working phone with me.
I also don't really want tobe downoading someone else's software onto my phone. Once, you only needed three apps - one for phoning, one for texting and one for exploring the internet. That's all I want and all I need.
They used to, and maybe still do provide little keychain fobs with your barcode on:
Bit tacky, though.
Cool kids cut out the square with the QR code on it and only carry that.
The coolest kids get their tesco clubcard QR code tattooed in the middle of their forehead.
I would think TV as a trigger highly unlikely. My eldest lad demonstrated peculiar traits from a very, very young age. When he started crawling he crawled backwards and at this point getting himself out of corners was nigh on impossible. He was noticeably different from similarly aged children including his brother.
The debilitating element of the condition was social interaction. He was viewed as weird from aged around two and a half by his peers. That continues today. Communication skills including speech and language were slow and not because he was glued to the Teletubbies. Throughout his life he has focused on a particular interest, and I mean focused. It is the only focus in the moment. Firstly it was Thomas the Tank Engine, apparently young autistic boys relate to the faces on the engines (toys, books and on screen). There is certainly a marked neurodiversity about him. He thinks differently to others, and it was notable before he started watching Bob the Builder. He's quite smart, he has a 2:1 programming degree, although he didn't do well at GCSEs and got where he is today via a BTec route, but he only reads stuff that is of interest to him (he passed his driving theory test on the second attempt and a practical driving test on the first) and his general knowledge is shockingly poor. He doesn't assimilate information well but can function well using routine. He is rules based so he meticulously adheres to speed limits and he is unnaturally polite. He is learning Japanese at evening classes. He is different, well different and not just "a bit peculiar"!
So why the burgeoning rates of autism diagnosis? Now I am sceptical when Leon claims, for example, Theresa May is "on the spectrum" because she is "awkward". There is more to it than that, although perhaps over diagnosing awkward people as neurodiverse is an issue that should be looked at and avoided. Sometimes naughty boys are just naughty, and pinning it on ADHD and/or autism is simply a handy hook to hang it on. Perhaps in that instance they watched too much TV.
I have to agree. It strikes me as a bit of an insult to people with autism that it is used use it as a label for anyone who is a bit geeky, clever or socially awkward. Anyone who gets impatient in a queue or reading a book calls says they have ADHD. Does it work the other way? I suppose those who are confident or arrogant are called psychopaths readily enough.
"over diagnosing awkward people as neurodiverse is an issue that should be looked at and avoided" couldn't agree more
According to the Times the 10% tariff could remain on the UK even if there’s a deal and the government is now trying to just get the tariff reduced on cars .
If this really is true then it’s a total humiliation for no 10.
Why? If Trump really means it when he says 10% is permanent everyone will be in the same boat.
Only a humiliation if we get worse terms than others.
Bit of an embarrassment for the ‘Only 10% is a massive validation of Brexit!’ lads, mind. A week is a long time etc.
I would think TV as a trigger highly unlikely. My eldest lad demonstrated peculiar traits from a very, very young age. When he started crawling he crawled backwards and at this point getting himself out of corners was nigh on impossible. He was noticeably different from similarly aged children including his brother.
The debilitating element of the condition was social interaction. He was viewed as weird from aged around two and a half by his peers. That continues today. Communication skills including speech and language were slow and not because he was glued to the Teletubbies. Throughout his life he has focused on a particular interest, and I mean focused. It is the only focus in the moment. Firstly it was Thomas the Tank Engine, apparently young autistic boys relate to the faces on the engines (toys, books and on screen). There is certainly a marked neurodiversity about him. He thinks differently to others, and it was notable before he started watching Bob the Builder. He's quite smart, he has a 2:1 programming degree, although he didn't do well at GCSEs and got where he is today via a BTec route, but he only reads stuff that is of interest to him (he passed his driving theory test on the second attempt and a practical driving test on the first) and his general knowledge is shockingly poor. He doesn't assimilate information well but can function well using routine. He is rules based so he meticulously adheres to speed limits and he is unnaturally polite. He is learning Japanese at evening classes. He is different, well different and not just "a bit peculiar"!
So why the burgeoning rates of autism diagnosis? Now I am sceptical when Leon claims, for example, Theresa May is "on the spectrum" because she is "awkward". There is more to it than that, although perhaps over diagnosing awkward people as neurodiverse is an issue that should be looked at and avoided. Sometimes naughty boys are just naughty, and pinning it on ADHD and/or autism is simply a handy hook to hang it on. Perhaps in that instance they watched too much TV.
I have to agree. It strikes me as a bit of an insult to people with autism that it is used use it as a label for anyone who is a bit geeky, clever or socially awkward. Anyone who gets impatient in a queue or reading a book calls says they have ADHD. Does it work the other way? I suppose those who are confident or arrogant are called psychopaths readily enough.
"over diagnosing awkward people as neurodiverse is an issue that should be looked at and avoided" couldn't agree more
I am going to be controversial here. Genuine autism is not to be "celebrated" or seen as a "superpower", it is f****** horrible to watch someone you love struggle through life because their brain is wired up differently to the rest of us. I'm really looking forward to RFK's cure, but I am not holding my breath.
Americans may need to have vaccination certificates in order to travel. We should not let this mindless idiocy become a threat to our own public health.
It would be ridiculous to single out Americans when we've been putting public health at risk by letting unscreened people into the country for years.
Trump keeps singling out other countries for ill treatment. Why can’t we do the same?
According to the Times the 10% tariff could remain on the UK even if there’s a deal and the government is now trying to just get the tariff reduced on cars .
If this really is true then it’s a total humiliation for no 10.
Why? If Trump really means it when he says 10% is permanent everyone will be in the same boat.
Only a humiliation if we get worse terms than others.
After all that begging for scraps and the unedifying fawning at the WH by Starmer and the sum total is 10% tariffs . It’s a total embarrassment for no 10 and we’re still going to be subjected to two visits from Trump where there will be more gimp like behaviour .
Comments
And here we are...
Reuters
@Reuters
·
1h
US retailers are almost completely reliant on China for Christmas decorations; sourcing 87% of their goods here. But Chinese producers said that orders from US clients have slowed as both sides are cautious about the risk of rising import tariffs https://reut.rs/43MVcFS
It's correlation based, but seems plausible.
I always teach people tools to calculate them
Bond yields, the dollar and global stocks are an antidote to the Trump reality distortion field. Unlike election fraud or condoms to Gaza and the like, he can’t create numbers out of thin air. When money is on the line, if investors don’t believe him, they will sell.
https://x.com/jimsciutto/status/1910430540890857873
When I was teaching my son maths, I really focused on him understanding that 17 is (1 x 10, and 1 x 7), because that is the very essence of our mathematics, and I only reallyunderstood it much later in life.
"China retaliated today by reducing the number of American films that can be shown there. What's your reaction to them now targeting cultural exports?"
@POTUS: "I've heard of worse things." 🤣
https://www.natesilver.net/p/trump-approval-ratings-nate-silver-bulletin
My final Further Maths exam was the most stressful experience of my life, final A-Level exam ever, 3 hrs, Q1 worth 50 marks, and Q2 & Q3 worth 25 marks each, I was planning on spending 90 mins on Q1, after 60 mins I thought I was on track, next time I locked at the clock, I was 150 mins into the exam and had just finished Q1.
Raced through Qs 2 & 3 and spent the summer worrying I had screwed up my grades and wouldn't get into my first choice university.
Still managed an A overall.
It was the last time I was ever plagued by self doubt.
"No, I haven't seen Adolescence, but have seen enough misogyny over the years to be familiar enough with the issues. It's up to schools how they frame such subjects to their students, just as it is with other important subjects like Islamic extremism, gang culture and other social issues."
Basically science nerds can now find each other and mate…
https://x.com/TheDailyShow/status/1910302381289398508
The problem was, in the original version of "The Star Wars" the Death Star didn't appear until the third act (which is basically what we now know as Return of the Jedi)
When Lucas had to cut the story down and the first act become A New Hope, he decided to take the Death Star from act three and move it into act one.
But now you have a problem. How do you "top" the Death Star that you've already used as the climax to your first act in your final act?
Hence, Death Star II.
As for the First Order, that's another issue as the Sequel Trilogy is SWINO (Star Wars In Name Only) IMO and I have no interest in it.
I also don't really want tobe downoading someone else's software onto my phone. Once, you only needed three apps - one for phoning, one for texting and one for exploring the internet. That's all I want and all I need.
Bit tacky, though.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/04/health/cdc-sti-lab-gonorrhea.html
https://x.com/adamfeuerstein/status/1910435131745329551
I spend a lot of time helping people, generally over-75, who have chosen not to join in to the PC/Internet/Smartphone world but who now find themselves digitally excluded. I often wonder whether I will decline to use something that will place me at a similar disadvantage in the future - hopefully not.
If we all adopt cashless
Everything accessed via apps etc
We are in effect forcing others to do the same.
These maybe people who are unbanked, they maybe people who cant afford a smartphone. Personally I feel we have a responsibility to ensure such people who cannot join the new tech society whether because of cost or tech disconnect. As time goes by those figures will fall and when the time is right all fine but it is not yet in my view
Re. times tables, it's fine to learn them up to wherever you want. But it's even better to work stuff out. Here's an example. Say you want to multiply two numbers between 10 and 20. Call them 1m and 1n.
All you have to do is this.
1. Lose a 1 and imagine yourself a little map of Africa, like this:
1m
_n
2. Perform an addition in yer 'ead, to get T.
3. Take 10T and add on m times n.
4. That's your answer.
Example
_17
x14
Steps 1-2: 21
Steps 3-4: 210 + 28 = 238. Ta-dah!
As for multiplying a number less than 10 with a number between 10 and 20, anyone who can't do that in their 'ead is a bit dim.
So adding together not being dim with the above rule, anyone can do any product up to 20 x 20.
If requiring cashless and phone apps for everything what portion of the populace would you be happy to exclude to make it happen?
Because the bloody thing was back at the holiday cottage. I mean, why would you need a mobile phone…
There is not one app - beyond an internet explorer proxy - I use that I do not use reluctantly.
Lets go out but I will ignore you for my phone most of the time and if thats the case then they can fuck off
Are you still putting cheques in the post?
I’m enjoying the Manchester Tart !! 👍
https://x.com/AmbJapanUK/status/1909717906524450903
Although I was thinking this afternoon what the advice should be to a non-twatstick user who goes somewhere where there's a lot of street stickup crime, where the usual advice is when you see a gun pointed at you, hand over your wallet, bank cards, and phone. E.g. Brazil and many other places. The advice might be to carry a twatstick so you can hand it over, because the stickup merchant might not believe you if you were to say "Steady on, old chepp, I'd examine my assumptions if I were you."
Better to encourage and support those who are a bit scared of tech to adopt it imo.
My 93 yo father-in-law has never touched a computer or mobile phone in his life and never will now but boy does it piss him off how excluded that leaves him. Not a day goes past without him moaning about how unfair it is that everything's switched to apps/online etc.
Fun fact: Wechat won't allow Chinese citizens in China to use it unless they link it to their bank account. Cool kids cut out the square with the QR code on it and only carry that.
Nothing could possibly go wrong.
Because tech truly was absolutely fine in 2008.
He was wrong, of course: You should, mostly, campaign in prose, and, on many subjects, govern in numbers. For example: Should elected officials in the UK watch a striking story on TV, or should they look at the look at trends in crime?
They can do both, and should if they have time, but if they are considering what policy changes to make, they should spend most of their time with the numbers.
Naturally, good politicians will illustrate their arguments to the public, with stories.
- Passenger Assist. for booking ramps, wheelchair spaces, assistance etc. on trains. Works like a dream, a simple but brilliant app.
- Reolink. Alerts from a 4G solar-powered camera at our building plot whenever anything moves on it.
- HMRC app - surprisingly good.
Others I've been using longer, I wouldn't be without:
- Safari, Mail, Contacts, Notes, Wallet, Maps, Home, Camera
- Halifax bank - quicker and better than than online banking via a browser
- Met Office - still the best UK forecasts
- Waitrose: use your phone to scan as you shop, better than their in-house scanners.
I confess I do have a lot of crap apps on my phone I have only used once or twice and need to get rid of though.
I take a mobile phone with me because it is a useful portable computer. I can do most of my basic computing jobs on it, access the Internet, pay bills, book holidays, find out where I am and how to get home, and keep in touch with people
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3677xzk56no
I think it's better to encourage and help people to get on board themselves if they can rather than resist generally beneficial change myself.
UC has probably been the largest driver of increased IT adoption in recent years. It's very difficult to claim without a smartphone or PC.
I say weaponise the idea.
Form a special legal unit, whose only job is to prosecute the Kings enemies. Forever.
So the kids/babysitter can contact you, but no smartphone…
I was surprised to see that a poll showed people would consider £250 a year off their electricity bills sufficient compensation; myself and a few mates all agreed we’d each happily pay a grand a year extra to not have the pylons built
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2vvgjjvgmo
Once a week it tells me I spend 20-30 minutes a day on it - most of which is my podcast app or the kodi-remote app to skip through TV shows.
If this really is true then it’s a total humiliation for no 10.
The debilitating element of the condition was social interaction. He was viewed as weird from aged around two and a half by his peers. That continues today. Communication skills including speech and language were slow and not because he was glued to the Teletubbies. Throughout his life he has focused on a particular interest, and I mean focused. It is the only focus in the moment. Firstly it was Thomas the Tank Engine, apparently young autistic boys relate to the faces on the engines (toys, books and on screen). There is certainly a marked neurodiversity about him. He thinks differently to others, and it was notable before he started watching Bob the Builder. He's quite smart, he has a 2:1 programming degree, although he didn't do well at GCSEs and got where he is today via a BTec route, but he only reads stuff that is of interest to him (he passed his driving theory test on the second attempt and a practical driving test on the first) and his general knowledge is shockingly poor. He doesn't assimilate information well but can function well using routine. He is rules based so he meticulously adheres to speed limits and he is unnaturally polite. He is learning Japanese at evening classes. He is different, well different and not just "a bit peculiar"!
So why the burgeoning rates of autism diagnosis? Now I am sceptical when Leon claims, for example, Theresa May is "on the spectrum" because she is "awkward". There is more to it than that, although perhaps over diagnosing awkward people as neurodiverse is an issue that should be looked at and avoided. Sometimes naughty boys are just naughty, and pinning it on ADHD and/or autism is simply a handy hook to hang it on. Perhaps in that instance they watched too much TV.
Trump is upending his trade team.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is now taking the lead, with Peter Navarro sidelined and Howard Lutnick recast as the "bad cop."
https://x.com/politico/status/1910415079423554015
@maitlis
This is significant. Gives us a first glimpse of who controlled the events of the last 48 hours. Bessent was critical in talking Trump down from his tariff ledge. And Navarro was over ruled - and is now paying the political price ..
https://x.com/maitlis/status/1910452908593942887
Only a humiliation if we get worse terms than others.
"over diagnosing awkward people as neurodiverse is an issue that should be looked at and avoided" couldn't agree more
A week is a long time etc.