The really boring and totally pointless snippets thread IV

[4mastacker]

Trying to post in another thread, realised I wasn't signed in. Can't remember logging out.

[TheGreenGoblin]

No *sh*t* Sherlock

I thought it was yesterday?

Keep that thought. It will be useful tomorrow

Reminds me of the old physics joke about time being necessary to "stop everything happening at the same time!" Causality be damned!

Time defining time... tautological as well.

Relativity.

There was a young lady named Bright
Whose speed was far faster than light;
She set out one day
In a relative way
And returned on the previous night.

[Rwy in Sight]

The success of Zoom meetings is going to severely affect future business class air travel!

People have learned not to travel.

I am not sure they have or they wouldn't return to the previous habits very fast given the opportunity - cheaper fares, people still liking to meet face to face, people liking to escape from family and office for a few days. Plus those who love to travel.

[TheGreenGoblin]

Don't know about Zoom, I tend to use MS Teams, and do most of my business online, worldwide and have done so for the last 5 years. Even before the lurgy, meetings online were, and now, still are and, in the future, will be the primary modus operandi.

I have just sat in on a Royal Institute of Navigation webinar "UK Helicopters – The Quest for All-Weather Flight" by Stephen Hogarth, and it was excellent. No need to drive, catch a train or anything, or go to some lecture theatre. Superb. <<hat tip to PN for pointing me in this direction>>

[Pontius Navigator]

RiS, tend to agree. I was on a NATO committee for 3 years. We would often have disagreement between members from two different air forces, say Dutch and Greek. We could see the problem was one of nuance. At the coffee break a quick explanation that they were actually in agreement and the meeting then moved on.

At one conference I think we spent more time having coffee than in committee, not something you can resolve on Zoom.

[Rwy in Sight]

Funny story - a Air Force officer one told me a story about a customer willing to order only if the salesman paid him a visit. Similarly on an aviation conference I was told the coffee breaks were the most important where old contacts are renewed or new ones made.

[OFSO]

In my vertically structured place of work in Germany, the morning and afternoon coffee bar visits were the only place for cross-pollination of ideas. Then some SOB visited from the seat in Paris, took exception to "everyone standing around drinking coffee and wasting time" and closed the coffee bar down, cutting off the exchange of info. (In Paris their restaurant was open all day.... )

[Smeagol]

In my vertically structured place of work in Germany, the morning and afternoon coffee bar visits were the only place for cross-pollination of ideas. Then some SOB visited from the seat in Paris, took exception to "everyone standing around drinking coffee and wasting time" and closed the coffee bar down, cutting off the exchange of info. (In Paris their restaurant was open all day.... )

Must admit that the same 'cross-pollination of ideas' happened in smoke rooms in days when such a thing was allowed in offices. Slightly informal meetings in coffee, tea or even smoke rooms are essential for the free flow of information, ideas and just getting to know people from different areas of an organisation.

[ExSp33db1rd]

UP

It's been ages since I last did any astrometry and am rusty as it's a perishable skill.

How many of the 57 "navigable" stars that we had to remember, can you remember now ? No ! don't bother.

'trouble is, now living in the Southern Hem. they're all upside down and I have trouble identifying any of them, and can't see Polaris to check my Latitude. At least one advantage living Downundda - I could never, initially, remember the rotation of the weather systems, so created my own Rule e.g. ANTI cyclones go ANTI clockwise in the Southern Hem. Now that I'm in the Sth.Hem. I feel justified, it all fits into place.

ZOOM ? Can anyone explain why we couldn't attend my wife's sisters funeral Zoom on my wife's iMac ? Fortunately my PC laptop was up and ready so we used that, but would have preferred the larger screen of the big iMac. With 50% (?) of the population using Apple, I can't believe that those Applets never use Zoom ?

Any answers ?

[handsfree]

No answer to why you couldn't use Zoom on your iMac ExSp33b1rd except I can tell you that Mrs HF
uses both our iMac and Mac Pro to have Zoom meetings with her Book Club and chats with her mates
quite successfully. I can only assume it lies within your settings.

+3°C, overcast, 10km or more and pitch black out there. Having had a comforting cup of tea I
shall now head back to my pit and hopefully sleep.

[OFSO]

Guten Morgan an Alle - Up early, I plan on going back to the dentist as yesterday's provisional filling was a bit too provisional.

Zoom works well on a Chrome book except I think so many people are using it there are lots of pauses which make school lessons a bit of a struggle.

[Ibbie]

Morning folks.

Tis 15c and a bright fine day, with a thin cloud covering. 18c has been suggested by some for later.

[ExSp33db1rd]

No answer to why you couldn't use Zoom on your iMac ExSp33b1rd.

Thanks, Something to do with Safari browser apparently, note to use Chrome, which for an Apple device seems daft ?

[Pontius Navigator]

Two of us visited a rather soulless office block at the HQ at High Wycombe. We had a rather esoteric problem between UK and NATO Air defence computers, not vital though. While I visited one office my colleague visited next door.

The upshot was that the two people we needed to see sat back to back, a wall between them, and neither knew of the other. There was no in-building coffee bar.

[TheGreenGoblin]

The last time I actually "enjoyed" working in an office, the office was associated with workshops and manufacturing, where heavy metal was bent and where swarf was brushed off the floor, and real, useful products were made. I see see little life value in sitting in an open plan, or worse, a chicken coop office, under the tyrany of strip lighting with fellow drones, playing political games or while pecking around the coffee machine talking feathered brained service or financial industry drivel with the flock, while making somebody else wealthy!

I account it a blessing that I don't have to commute, wasting hours of my life every day, in a pointless journey to sit in proximity to a bunch of people, I don't really know and, in many cases, actively dislike!

I suppose I am lucky, I work for myself, my material is data, my clients are international, and in many cases, are those oddest of folk, actuaries, who for the most part like numbers far more than they like humans!

I guess somewhere along life's byways I have become a misanthrope!

[Pontius Navigator]

Excellent play, persuaded Mrs PN to watch the one with Nigel Hawthorne. At first she didn't want to watch but enjoyed it when she did.

[Undried Plum]

All but one of the hives were out flying yesterday.

#2 hive is the adventurous one. They produced prolifically and I'll try to split then twice this season as they are ideal breeding material.

#4 hive are lazy bitches. They did not fly at all yesterday. I'll not breed from them and may kill the queen and give them a new queen from #2 hive.

No astro last night because a bank of stratus floted up the Forth Valley at dusk and produced total sky obscurement. It was still there an hour before astronomical dawn, so I went back to bed.

If none of the colonies goes on flying ops by mid-afternoon, I will give them all their syrup feeders back because we are due for a due for a few cold days later this week.

[Woody]

No answer to why you couldn't use Zoom on your iMac ExSp33b1rd.

Thanks, Something to do with Safari browser apparently, note to use Chrome, which for an Apple device seems daft ?

I’ve downloaded the Zoom app on my iPad which runs on Safari and I haven’t had any problems with it, not that helps you!

[TheGreenGoblin]

Excellent play, persuaded Mrs PN to watch the one with Nigel Hawthorne. At first she didn't want to watch but enjoyed it when she did.

Didn't see Hawthorne in The Misanthrope but I bet he graced Moliere as he graced, almost everything he acted in, namely, with genius.

[Pontius Navigator]

Indeed he did, even though he is listed only as a cast member he is the one I remembered.