hilbert42

Joined 9 years ago

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3,586
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Comment · 3 days ago
This accident seems to have been caused by human error. Moreover, (from the news) the working arrangements and procedures seem to be such that in the event of a controller (or driver) making a mistake there was no automatic failsafe protection in place to stop the Renfe train.

An automatic failsafe mechanism should be installed to stop/cut the power to the moving train in situations like this, it should work irrespective of any instructions or actions by the controller or the driver.

When safety parameters deemed the Renefe train to be travelling too fast and too close to the Iryo one it should have stopped automatically. Such safety measures aren't rocket science but straightforward engineering, (interlocks, etc.). Over the years there have been too many accidents in situations such as this for such equipment not to be installed.

For a moment I visualized myself in that busy control room and easily making that mistake even though I'd made the correct decision hundreds of times previously. Not only are 69 lost lives a terrible tragedy but the life of the person who made this momentary slip has been ruined forever.

It should not have been allowed to happen. It's worth remembering that Westinghouse brake systems (which are well over a century old) automatically default to on (stop) when there's a fault, and the high speed (now decades old) Shinkansen has very sophisticated stopping mechanisms and has never had a major crash. The question is why such safety measures weren't installed here.

Comment · 9 days ago
All I can add is that I'm very glad that I've no Google accounts nor use its services even though I've an Android phone.
Comment · 19 days ago
"I guess you use the web in quite a limited manner? (Or use that other browser quite a lot...?)."

In fact, I'm a very heavy internet user, always have been. Much of my web usage is pretty well automated, I use multiple browsers selected from an 'open with' app. This android, de-googled smartphone currently has four different browsers 'tailored' for specific types of sites and all flush clean after use (cookies etc. are never stored). And toggling airplane mode is the quickest way to change one's IP address.

What's important for me is to separate jobs, functions, etc. that are best processed on the internet from those on other media—SMS, voice telephone, eyeballing people in person (physically going to a store), etc.

This greatly reduces my need for services that use JS. By separating and processing jobs by type I automatically avoid many having to be handled by the web—for those JavaScript can't enter the picture even if one wanted to use it.

For example, I used to do internet banking but I'd never do so again on two accounts—security and that it undermines the use of cash. (A cashless society is the quintessential way to lose one's autonomy, ultimately it's a very dangerous move towards totalitarianism. That most people don't realize this, or if they do then they're prepared to trade it for convenience simply horrify me.)

That Big Tech has enshittified the net out of all recognition in recent years means I've no longer use for social media, Gmail or any Google services—goodbye all Google JS. In short, whilst I do purchase stuff online, I purchase most from shops for cash.

Most of my time on the net is confined to specialist tech sites and they're the ones least likely to use JS in a restrictive way. Yes, I agree Cloudflare, etc. is an increasing problem but the web is so big there are usually alternatives. News is often syndicated, so when NYT and such make life difficult without JS, I just jump to the same story on another site where JS doesn't matter (such blocking nonsense is really a trivial non-issue for me). I've dozens more examples but by now you'll have gotten the gist.

Comment · 20 days ago
Well, I find your comment pretty offensive. In the past I've had some pretty rough and disparaging comments from JavaScript fanboys but yours has to be the worst. Associating disabling JS with pedos is about as low as it gets. Where did you get those stats from, or are they just a figment of your imagination?

"Unfortunately this idealistic principle (no JS) attracts the worst people."

Again, how did you come to that opinion? Where's your evidence/stats? Generally comments like that come from web/JS programmers who've realized that client-side users have them stymied when they disable JS.

An additional reason I avoid JS is speed, webpages become blinding fast when there's no JS. Once one gets addicted to the great rendering speed there's no return. I'm not against JS per se, trouble is you JS programmers have weaponised it against users, webpages of 7, 10 and even 20MB are now commonplace. Presenting such slow massive pages to users is nothing other than abuse.

I do not use Tor.

BTW, I should point out that my views about JS and privacy abuse were formed from my years working in govt. surveillance where the stakes are very high.

Comment · 20 days ago
My default is to run without JS and selectively enable it when absolutely necessary, so when I clicked on this story the page was prefaced with the following comment:

"You're protected from the methods I use here. You disabled JavaScript, so this fingerprinting trick can't run at all. You're still vulnerable to network-based methods. Read on to see what it does to everyone else.

From now on I’ll call you:…"

I've run sans JS as default almost since its inception in the Netscape days and I've very little difficulty without it. On rare occasions when I'm forced to use JS I'll cut-and-paste the URL into another browser.

I no longer use ad blockers as I just don't see ads with JS disabled. The other privacy precautions I take are the obvious ones such as no Google or social media accounts, flushing cookies at session's end, regularly randomize my IP and never let Chrome anywhere near my machines and make judicious use of multiple browsers (this is being written in Privacy Browser on Android).

Using NewPipe and sponsor block on PipePipe increases privacy and makes YouTube ad free.

Client-side scripting was a mistake which was obvious from the outset (or not severely limiting the reach of scripting engines).

What I find hard to understand is why alternative plugin JS engines haven't been developed that are under user control. Spoofing, randomizing and returning junk data to webservers would go a huge way towards stopping fingerprinting by websites.

Comment · 1 month ago
If paying cash is more expensive for a company then so be it. One should not be forced to pay extra simply because one uses the official method of exchange provided by the State.

If legal tender is offered as a method of exchange then it should automatically be the best (least expensive).

Frankly, what's happened here is outrageous. By not legislating and outlawing this practice we've another instance of government ineptitude.

Comment · 1 month ago
I owned several early Nokia phones so I understand your point. Trouble is I've various brands of work pants whose pockets wouldn't even safely hold those Nokias. You'd think more attention would be paid to the depth of pockets in work pants but not so. Thus it's not one wayward manufacturer who is to blame, they're all at it.

My solution is to have my local drycleaning shop that offers an alteration service to deepen the pockets. I shouldn't have to pay extra to get right-sized pockets manufacturers should have provided.

Comment · 1 month ago
Right. My earlier comments are not aimed at jeans, they're pretty much the exception. Their two main pockets being positioned at the front make it difficult for objects to fall out unnoticed.

I'm guessing, but I'd imagine as jeans first became popular in the days of horse riding side pockets really weren't a practical option, the rider's motion would contribute to things sliding out of them.

My complaint is that modern clothes designers have forgotten or stopped implementing good pocket design that was fully solved several centuries ago.

"I would really like some slacks with vertical deep pockets."

So would I, and deep pockets do exist but unfortunately not in mass produced pants that are commonly available (one's regular clothing). I have some army BD fatigues/dungarees with really good side pockets. They're not only deep but they're cut in a sort of a shallow 'P' shape. The P-cut at the bottom forces keys etc. to slide down one's side at 90° to the pocket exit when one is sitting. It's thus almost impossible to accidentally lose something out of them.

The questions are why don't manufacturers just copy this excellent design and why don't more people complain. If people stopped buying pants with shallow pockets the problem would be solved overnight.

Comment · 1 month ago
">Suits are made to be able to be tailored to the wearer’s measurements. But modern clothes aren’t."

It's understandable that modern pre-made clothes have to trade off the number of sizes and fittings. Unlike tailored clothes, economies of production mean they cannot be an ideal fit for everyone.

However, what I find completely inexcusable is that modern pants' pockets are almost inevitably too small, and often even zippers are too short making changing in and out of them awkward. These are rarely an issue with suits.

I'm fed up having my smartphone, keys and coins fall to the floor whenever I sit down. The problem is even worse in vehicles as the seats tilt back further. I've permanently lost smartphones because of shallow pockets.

Unlike clothes' sizes, there is no intrinsic limitation to pocket sizes, so why do we continue tolerate pockets that are not fit for purpose?

It's not only a pants problem, shirts regularly have pockets that are too shallow to take a pen, even the upper pockets of my overalls are not deep enough for a pen let alone a notebook or 6" rule.

Surely I'm not the only person who whinges about this. Why are pocket sizes a problem nowadays when never so decades ago?

Comment · 1 month ago
Agreed. It's difficult to find one these days. My solution is to use a computer monitor and a Set Top Box/PVR. Been doing that for some years now.
Comment · 1 month ago
This is one instance where I've no sympathy for the consumer. You buy a fridge to keep things cold—not watch videos or have the fridge connect to the internet.

What on earth would possess anyone to buy an AI/screen based fridge in the first place? Screen addiction must be worse than I'd realized.

Comment · 1 month ago
"Force majeure is basically there for situations where something outside a company’s control prevents them from delivering on a contract."

More broadly, Force majeure refers to an act of God or such outside of human control.

Comment · 1 month ago
Yeah, unfortunately you are correct. Life's too busy nowadays and there's not enough time to do a quarter of the things one wishes especially projects that require planning and months to implement.

Moreover, the reduction in or loss of manual trades (woodworking, machining, toolmaking, etc.) whether at home or in industry, amounts to an overall deskilling of the citizenry which has strategic implications.

Comment · 1 month ago
This is really terrible, I feel deeply for the father's predicament.

This ought to be a salient lesson: never store card details online despite the convenience. Further, as I do, use only a debit card for online purchases with the available credit only marginally more that for one's immediate purchase. It's also an excellent policy in case of being hacked.

Companies that allow employees to use cards with essentially unfettered credit have to take a large amount of the blame in circumstances such as this. There's no reason other than bad policy or irregular monitoring of expenses to allow expenses of this magnitude to build up. The company's financial policies need drastic overhaul.

Comment · 1 month ago
That's pretty much what happened. Trouble was the stakes were already high, if Starlin didn't yield to a bluff (had one been pursued) it would have been an embarrassing backdown and a show of weakness on part of the allies.

"Bluff" because no one other than perhaps Stalin would have followed through—to essentially extend WWII (this time between former allies).

So pragmatism was the order of the day, thus Poland and EE were sacrificed.

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