Andy Millne

are there many places left that fix steam trains?

I think Tyred & Exhausted do.

...boom

I wonder how many of the rent-a-mob demonstrating yesterday

Which mob? This one?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSlt-vedyL8

One megabyte a second on a 100 megabit connection is very poor. As monsta says an 8mbit connections theoretical max would be around that. A lot depends on the line quality/length and other equipment in the system. a 100mbit FTTH (fibre to the home) connection would theoretically give a true 100mbit as it's not subject to line issues like copper... But you still have issues with other equipment in the chain like the host server etc

Thanks guys for all the advise (although I don't understand a lot of it). I may just get the TV I was looking at (a Samsung UE40B8000) and buy a speaker system to go with it rather then a 3D Tv. Cheers

Good idea. I'm not familiar with the model but you won't go wrong with a samsung. Also wise avoiding 3D and putting the money towards better sound.

The Industrialization of Traffic: Why Bicycles are Faster than Cars

"The model American male devotes more than 1,600 hours a year to his car. He sits in it while it goes and while it stands idling. He parks it and searches for it. He earns the money to put down on it and to meet the monthly installments. He works to pay for gasoline, tolls, insurance, taxes, and tickets. He spends four of his sixteen waking hours on the road or gathering his resources for it."

"The model American puts in 1,600 hours to get 7,500 miles: less than five miles per hour. In countries deprived of a transportation industry, people manage to do the same, walking wherever they want to go, and they allocate only 3 to 8 per cent of their society's time budget to traffic instead of 28 per cent. What distinguishes the traffic in rich countries from the traffic in poor countries is not more mileage per hour of life-time for the majority, but more hours of compulsory consumption of high doses of energy, packaged and unequally distributed by the transportation industry."

"Man on a bicycle can go three or four times faster than the pedestrian, but uses five times less energy in the process. He carries one gram of his weight over a kilometer of flat road at an expense of only 0.15 calories. The bicycle is the perfect transducer to match man's metabolic energy to the impedance of locomotion. Equipped with this tool, man outstrips the efficiency of not only all machines but all other animals as well. The bicycle lifted man's auto-mobility into a new order, beyond which progress is theoretically not possible."

"Bicycles are not only thermodynamically efficient, they are also cheap. With his much lower salary, the Chinese acquires his durable bicycle in a fraction of the working hours an American devotes to the purchase of his obsolescent car. The cost of public utilities needed to facilitate bicycle traffic versus the price of an infrastructure tailored to high speeds is proportionately even less than the price differential of the vehicles used in the two systems."

Quoted fromf "Energy and Equity", Ivan Illich, 1978. Previously: Cars, out of the way. 

Moon

Conversations tend to head in the direction participants take them in. It just so happens politics is very topical at the moment for obvious reasons. I wouldn't say it had nothing to do with Bedlington. Anything in particular you want to talk about? There's nothing stopping you starting threads.

Er, no, it means he's still Prime Minister.

Although a hanged parliament does sound quite appealing. Where do we vote for that?

Seriously Debra, Thatcher has a lot to answer for she broke the unions, sold everything off to private enterprise, now we are in another Dickensian era, where money men rule bosses can run roughshod over their employees, make more and more massive profits and still not pay decent wages and if you don't like it well leave. The return of the times of the workhouses, debtors prisons and people starving on the streets aren't far off! The money men get richer the poor get poorer, even more so if Cam the 'Man' gets into power. Think of Scrooge and you'll get the gist!

Yep, I hear the bowler hat and monocle wearers are busy oiling the mincers ready to start pushing homeless and unemployed people through them too.

I was speaking to somebody today who was telling me he was "always going to vote Labour no matter what".

Therein lies the problem I think. I asked the obvious "why" question and they told me they were a believer in not changing principles and that Labour would have done alright if it wasn't for the "Global Recession"

I'll not go into the "global" recession because I have a feeling 3G will have something to say on that.

If we are stupid enough to loudly exclaim a staunch allegiance to one particular party "no matter what" then what incentive do the politicians have to act in this area. They are naturally going to pay more attention to areas in which a few votes will cost them their seat.

Just me there at about 9:30

We have been entered into the Northumberland in Bloom event as was raised at a previous town council meeting. As far as I know the flowers are to be provided by NCC.

Sorry still don't understand what you are trying to say. One is lit with fluorescent lighting one with LEDs. Both are backlit but LED backlighting is more even. What's in dispute about that? My point is you said LED TVs weren't backlit but they are.

I'm not saying that. I bought a cheap noname fluorescent backlit one a few years ago and the newer LED backlit ones ARE far superior like you say. But it's still backlighting like the older ones, just with a different light source that's all.

No matter what lighting technology is used it's still backlighting whichever way you spin it. Again just another case of the marketing department wanting to print more stickers. LED does result in more even backlighting though in my experience.

We'll give you the credit for the new record number of users online at once today.

Thought I'd found a good one there but obviously not!

Bricks gave it away but only because I made a thumbnail of the library sign for the library/community centre news article.

here's one...

Nobody remember the huge swathes of British builders landing in Germany then? I don't I'm too young but my point stands

my letter abour bedders in this week's news post leader.bit of it missing but nevermind. mentioned this website so hopefully more people will join and have their say on the forums

Keep fighting the fight Debra.

Here

my correction its 600hz not 600mhz!

it's actually 600Hz but that's really pushing it

it stops the image blur or something!

yeah that's the idea but I'm not convinced. 100 fps maybe but 600... Not so sure. I think it's megapixel syndrome kicking in.

Your TV may be 50Hz but that is interlaced and displays alternating lines then rescans and fills in the blanks. 24/25 Hz or fps in progressive scan (display the fullframe at once) is what the movie studios aim at for a filmic look. That's a seperate issue though and what you suggested (yes I'm being pedantic) was to buy a 600 'milli' Hertz TV i.e. 0.6 frames per second.

I'm not convinced of the need for 600Hz as the human eye can't interpret that many frames in a second. Another sticker for the TV that's all it is for all but the very fastest scenes.

I would definately opt for LED backlighting. I have a regular back lit LCD set and it is very noticeable in dark scenes. Blacks are greys and the backlighting is uneven.

I wouldn't bother with a 600mhz TV as Monsta suggests. You'll quickly get bored of watching movies at that framerate. 24Hz at least I'd say

Iraq

hmmmm, now are you sure this time?