


rather than getting a big surprise doesn't it?
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 2:28,
archived)

in over a year, I have never seen anyone else in these particular woods.
I feel compelled to explain, I'm not some terrible exhibitionist - I really hadn't expected to see anyone else for miles. I just wanted a nice tan.
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 2:34,
archived)
I feel compelled to explain, I'm not some terrible exhibitionist - I really hadn't expected to see anyone else for miles. I just wanted a nice tan.

But the person who nearly did was, sadly, in no way hot. Or female.
So it wasn't much like the movies, which was a shame.
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 2:42,
archived)
So it wasn't much like the movies, which was a shame.

like maybe 'Deliverance'
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 2:44,
archived)

So many questions. So little real concern.
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 5:29,
archived)

( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 5:31,
archived)

I am a scientist and, as not just a scientist but as a theoretical physicist, I can confirm that while I'm not a particular fan of his, Brian Cox is certainly a scientist and that Manchester - while one may or may not agree that it is a shithole; personally I rather like the city - is definitely a real city.
It's either that or I am suffering some entertainingly realistic psychoses.
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 10:56,
archived)
It's either that or I am suffering some entertainingly realistic psychoses.

previously, germany. previously, britain. simple answer, simple question.
or if i take you figuratively, IN MY BRAIN. yeah.
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 11:46,
archived)
or if i take you figuratively, IN MY BRAIN. yeah.

Having never seen anything with Brian Cox in it.
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 11:34,
archived)

He knows what he's talking about and he's good at explaining it, but to get there you have to watch him flying off to some tenuously-connected remote location so that he can crouch down and shout it against the wind.
No-one quite knows why he feels this is necessary, nor why his production company feel it's worth the expense. One suspects that being married to a producer - who, I believe, is involved in this production company - is something to do with it.
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 11:48,
archived)
No-one quite knows why he feels this is necessary, nor why his production company feel it's worth the expense. One suspects that being married to a producer - who, I believe, is involved in this production company - is something to do with it.

Especially considering my boss has no results to report, yet still gets to go to every conference going and has lots of "invited" lectures to give.
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 11:54,
archived)

You don't do any work, you can blame your postdocs/students for any mistakes, but give all the plenary talks and claim all the plaudits in nice cities, without even spending any of your own grant.
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 12:52,
archived)

but i got this
cfb
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 9:30,
archived)

cfb

i managed to grab a fair bit of it, but there were three threads. he deleted two before i grabbed the last.
i managed to piece some of the others together, but i didn't get it all
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 12:23,
archived)
i managed to piece some of the others together, but i didn't get it all

Gotta give him credit for "spaz-packing fucknugget" though... Insult of The Day award!
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 11:27,
archived)

At least we now have a suspect for the pierced tits?
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 12:03,
archived)

( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 2:26,
archived)

It wasn't *that* cold out around the Midlands, at least...
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 2:28,
archived)

Don't all the trees get in the way?
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 2:28,
archived)

So today I found a "clearing"
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 2:31,
archived)

( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 2:33,
archived)

But it would have made a bit of a long-winded title and I couldn't think of any Nick Cave songs about clearings in woods to name the gif.
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 2:35,
archived)

I often run naked in the woods, screaming "I wish I were a girly"
I mean....

( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 2:43,
archived)
I mean....


girly american
edit: why didn't my strike hashtag work here on girly? It was fine in the preview
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 2:46,
archived)
edit: why didn't my strike hashtag work here on girly? It was fine in the preview

I meant I had put those angular brackets around the word 'strike' and in the preview, the next word had a line through, but not in the actual post
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 2:52,
archived)

( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 3:02,
archived)

( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 3:08,
archived)

so "Tao"="HTML"?
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 11:44,
archived)

I was just about to trot out my 'read the faq', but I'm glad I clicked it first.
If I knew anything about it, I'd suggest way of optimising your gif so it would fit here :)
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 2:05,
archived)
If I knew anything about it, I'd suggest way of optimising your gif so it would fit here :)

but I couldn't optimise it much more without losing too much shiny :(
(and faq-wise, the posted image is sub-100k and under 400px wide :)
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 2:11,
archived)
(and faq-wise, the posted image is sub-100k and under 400px wide :)

It's just playing about with settings until you get something you're happy with.
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 2:24,
archived)

Original size and quality was for owner's laptop screen.
Brain's running a bit too slowly to remember to make a smaller version :(
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 2:26,
archived)
Brain's running a bit too slowly to remember to make a smaller version :(

I only have photo-paint for making GIFs. It never asks me about lossy.
What is it?
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 2:28,
archived)
What is it?

for smaller file-sizes.
Like adjusting JPG compression, but a bit more effective.
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 2:29,
archived)
Like adjusting JPG compression, but a bit more effective.

maybe I'm missing something, but I just can't find a way of optimising GIFs without making them look awful
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 2:39,
archived)

Smaller image dimensions - less fewer frames
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 2:43,
archived)

but I sometimes see GIFs on here that look great and are still small and I just can't seem to get the same results.
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 2:49,
archived)

but when you post it add some html magic *pointy arrow left* img width="300" src="YOUR_FILE_URL"
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 3:12,
archived)

( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 2:23,
archived)

One of the aluminium XK ones with 4.2 on the back.
Probably as well I wasn't allowed to take it out for a spin and put 12 points on the licence really...
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 2:19,
archived)
Probably as well I wasn't allowed to take it out for a spin and put 12 points on the licence really...

than an armchair, even if the armchair is considerably quick.
(plus I've seen what he spends on petrol. meep!)
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 2:30,
archived)
(plus I've seen what he spends on petrol. meep!)

for a couple of years; an old huge one and believe me in the UK that was no joke trying to park it. Was bloody good fun though.
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 2:37,
archived)

do you have a residence permit?
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 2:08,
archived)

it's god from heaven
he wanted to see the race
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 1:05,
archived)
he wanted to see the race

whilst the ladies move in for the kill..
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 21:59,
archived)

they can actually see them with comparative ease.
Isn't evolution utterly mental
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 22:49,
archived)
Isn't evolution utterly mental

I'll have to start wearing zebra print clothes and see if I'm attacked by a lion or a fly first.
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 22:53,
archived)

( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 23:04,
archived)

all the younglings will be scratching their heads over this.
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 22:50,
archived)


and the Mediocre Dutch Inventor Thumbs Up template - have fun ;)

( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 21:35,
archived)

( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 21:41,
archived)

I was once enjoying a bath and the light bulb went. I just happened to have my phone with me and texted him if I should change the light bulb as I could reach it standing up with one foot resting on the taps. You know what, he sent this photo. Great guy :)
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 21:40,
archived)

:D
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 21:42,
archived)

but why is there a little love heart floating out of the back of his collar?
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 21:40,
archived)

He just loves giving a thumbs up to a job well done.
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 21:42,
archived)

The heart is from the little card at the expo the helicopter cat was on. Would you believe the theme of the expo was LOVE. I did.
Click here to be enlightened by the original photo and all that
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 23:45,
archived)
Click here to be enlightened by the original photo and all that

Pass and move, it's the elephant groove
Pass and move
Pass and move
Pass and move
Pass and move
Pass and move, it's the elephant groove
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 21:27,
archived)
Pass and move
Pass and move
Pass and move
Pass and move
Pass and move, it's the elephant groove

It looks like it
(Great timing by the way)
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 21:47,
archived)
(Great timing by the way)

just look at his face, he feels let down, let down by you and your antics, in fact you've let the whole family down.
( ,
Mon 13 Aug 2012, 9:40,
archived)

"The theevin' bahstads!"
Erm... de-RIS: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqRkkVQ6OSE
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 21:18,
archived)
Erm... de-RIS: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqRkkVQ6OSE

that lioness would say 'I was only messing about, zebras take themselves too seriously'
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 20:32,
archived)

I had a bra once where the washing machine actually ate one of the wires. It must have gone through one of the little water holes. No other explanation for it.
Come to think of it, maybe that's why the plumbing is so buggered up in my flat.
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 21:44,
archived)
Come to think of it, maybe that's why the plumbing is so buggered up in my flat.

Is the leading cause of the demise of my last washing machine. Apparently those underwires can do some serious damage to the drum if you don't get them out :c
( ,
Sun 12 Aug 2012, 10:21,
archived)

Talking of Z bras... www.b3ta.com/board/10757081
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 21:32,
archived)

but he has a fair bit Tuc'd away in his trunks and I'm sure that, if he carries on, he could be in for a happy ending :/
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 18:09,
archived)

or was that the synchronized compo?
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 18:12,
archived)
![Challenge Entry: Zebras! [challenge entry]](/images/board_posticon_c.gif)

Hello all, sorry I haven't been in lately, the dog overslept on my alarm clock

Something along the lines of him sorting out a great cooked breakfast from the single egg, tin of beans and packet of spinach in the fridge. Then he'll organize a walk around the park, lunch in the local Italian and beers, followed by cinema and late meal (with the right wine) at the French bistro round the corner.
He's got it all covered (and his grandmother is Welsh, so that's why he's in the boat).
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 17:46,
archived)
He's got it all covered (and his grandmother is Welsh, so that's why he's in the boat).

-Mama?! E Dubya's off again!
-Don't he want his grits?
-No mama, he bin all rude an' sticky tongue out.
-There, there Jimbo, he be back. Mama's grits is the best in the whole dang three counties.
-I love you mama.
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 18:17,
archived)
-Don't he want his grits?
-No mama, he bin all rude an' sticky tongue out.
-There, there Jimbo, he be back. Mama's grits is the best in the whole dang three counties.
-I love you mama.

and the melodies drummed into our heads... B, B, A, A, C, B, A, C... gah!
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 17:27,
archived)

I only found out recently corporal punishment in schools was only banned in the late 80s... I'd always assumed it had been banned in the 60s or something
This means I only missed The Cane (or similar) by a few years. Worrying.
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 17:37,
archived)
This means I only missed The Cane (or similar) by a few years. Worrying.

I might not have become a musician.
Although I think the king is holding glockenspiels.
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 19:07,
archived)
Although I think the king is holding glockenspiels.

Ooh, you're quite right, I never knew there was a difference
This'll teach me not to trust Google Images
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 21:39,
archived)
This'll teach me not to trust Google Images

Twiddle with the tape head.
(EDIT: also, click for Monkeon - that's great!)
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 15:26,
archived)
(EDIT: also, click for Monkeon - that's great!)

Which was a +3 with a tape deck instead of a disc drive. Way better than a +2.
/speccy nerd blog
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 16:14,
archived)
/speccy nerd blog

There was the ZX82, which succeeded the ZX80 and ZX81, both of which were shit. The ZX82 was renamed "Spectrum" because it had colour, even if that colour was shit and made arcade games look like spazzy technicolour lego. This machine came with 16 or 48kb of addressable RAM, which was a lie because 6k was taken up by the system, leaving you with a maximum of 42k of addressable RAM (which was more than the Commodore "64", which had something like 38k of addressable RAM. These things mattered!)
Then there was the +, which was in a nicer box, and the 128k, which had 42k of addressable RAM. Then Sinclair went bust and sold out to "Sir" Alan "Sugar", who put it in a nicer box and sold the same thing as, oh fuck knows, the +2 I think. Then there was the +3 which had a useless disc drive that no-one used and which ran some shitty Amstrad DOS which was shit and no-one used. The +2A was the +3 but with a tape deck.
I can't remember what the practical difference was except slightly better sound and loads of 48k games didn't load.
Bet you're glad you didn't bother reading this post. (Which is also factually suspect at one point because I can't remember whether the 128k came before the + or if the + actually *was* the 128k.)
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 18:05,
archived)
Then there was the +, which was in a nicer box, and the 128k, which had 42k of addressable RAM. Then Sinclair went bust and sold out to "Sir" Alan "Sugar", who put it in a nicer box and sold the same thing as, oh fuck knows, the +2 I think. Then there was the +3 which had a useless disc drive that no-one used and which ran some shitty Amstrad DOS which was shit and no-one used. The +2A was the +3 but with a tape deck.
I can't remember what the practical difference was except slightly better sound and loads of 48k games didn't load.
Bet you're glad you didn't bother reading this post. (Which is also factually suspect at one point because I can't remember whether the 128k came before the + or if the + actually *was* the 128k.)

saw a fascinating documentary about the birth of computers and computer games in general..from the early Pong..mind-boggling... the steps that have been taken in the few short years.Not a gamer myself but the graphics always blow me away.
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 18:20,
archived)

I might hunt it out (or something very similar). I love all kinds of history too anyway, and the nostalgia value of the 80s and early 90s gaming scene for me is quite impressive.
I've just been watching videos of Frontier Elite 2 which for me is still one of the two or three best games ever (the others being maybe Super Mario World and Time Splitters: Future Perfect. Oh, wait, also Geoff Crammond's GP series, taken as a whole, so you may as well have GP4 which looks the nicest. And Thief. Thief was fucking brilliant.) I might waste the evening drinking cheap lager and playing Elite 2.
Edit: Also, now in scientist mode, we owe a massive debt to the world of gaming. Some of the best chips for scientific calculation are GPUs, so long as you know how to program for them (I don't, but I know people who do and what they achieve is utterly mind-bending). GPUs have been developed almost entirely for the gaming market, which apparently dwarfs the professional market (including that of film and TV) in terms of revenue for the chip manufacturers. Doubtless the push of Hollywood and big TV has also been extremely significant, but gaming has certainly played a very big part in getting GPUs to the state they're in now, which is one of amazing potential. I keep meaning to find time to start programming on them because almost every code I write professionally can be massively parallelised and would be pretty much ideal for a GPU.
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 18:50,
archived)
I've just been watching videos of Frontier Elite 2 which for me is still one of the two or three best games ever (the others being maybe Super Mario World and Time Splitters: Future Perfect. Oh, wait, also Geoff Crammond's GP series, taken as a whole, so you may as well have GP4 which looks the nicest. And Thief. Thief was fucking brilliant.) I might waste the evening drinking cheap lager and playing Elite 2.
Edit: Also, now in scientist mode, we owe a massive debt to the world of gaming. Some of the best chips for scientific calculation are GPUs, so long as you know how to program for them (I don't, but I know people who do and what they achieve is utterly mind-bending). GPUs have been developed almost entirely for the gaming market, which apparently dwarfs the professional market (including that of film and TV) in terms of revenue for the chip manufacturers. Doubtless the push of Hollywood and big TV has also been extremely significant, but gaming has certainly played a very big part in getting GPUs to the state they're in now, which is one of amazing potential. I keep meaning to find time to start programming on them because almost every code I write professionally can be massively parallelised and would be pretty much ideal for a GPU.

not sure if you can still watch this on iplayer....
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00n5b92
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 19:53,
archived)
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00n5b92

i can't get iplayer where i live but doubtless it's on youtube, or other slightly more nefarious sites
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 20:53,
archived)

the things that supercomputers were doing back then are only just becoming mainstream. Of course it's many times refined by now in terms of actual implementation but in terms of concepts there's really nothing new.
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 20:27,
archived)

it's not really strictly true that things that were being done on supercomputers then are mainstream now. your mobile phone is a wonder of technology compared to a 60s mainframe.
i think i know what you mean though, i'm just very pedantic :) ultimately there's a limit to what we can use to do computing with. until something like quantum (or photonic) computing gets anything like usable, we're stuck with semiconductor physics, and increasingly complicated ways of harnessing it. the thing i find most impressive is that basically there is no-one in the world who really understands how, say, a third generation i7 chip actually works overall except in fairly general terms
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 20:41,
archived)
i think i know what you mean though, i'm just very pedantic :) ultimately there's a limit to what we can use to do computing with. until something like quantum (or photonic) computing gets anything like usable, we're stuck with semiconductor physics, and increasingly complicated ways of harnessing it. the thing i find most impressive is that basically there is no-one in the world who really understands how, say, a third generation i7 chip actually works overall except in fairly general terms

I had a +2 and loved it, but the 48k/128k incompatibility killed some things - I picked up an old 48k on a car boot sale specifically to play Elite!
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 18:21,
archived)

and there were things that were much better on it - like Kwik Snax, which on the 48k was fairly mediocre but on the 128k opened with a song by the Yolkfolk with Grandpa Dizzy bodypopping. Aceness. I seem to remember HeroQuest did something weird and stupid in 48k mode too.
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 18:49,
archived)

never as a released product.
the + boasted a full size keyboard, as opposed to the layout og the rubber key speccy.
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 18:21,
archived)
the + boasted a full size keyboard, as opposed to the layout og the rubber key speccy.

I grew up with the Speccy, some of my earliest memories are of playing Booty and JetPac. We had a DK Tronics keyboard so that the 48k was actually half-pleasant to use; without it it was like trying to use a cheap calculator as a computer. The + was a massive improvement, and the build quality of the Amstrad models (and built-in tape decks saving all the faffing with input levels) a jump up again.
I once built a Snoopy adventure game in Sinclair Basic. I soaked up all 8 user-defined graphics available within three screens - including a lovely two-part graphic of Snoopy's bandaged wrist after he broke it on screen 2 - and then ran out of RAM. Probably should have learned assembly.
Edit: looking at the original post I phrased that really badly, it does make it look like there was a machine called the ZX82 released which was then renamed "Spectrum". Obviously you're right; I meant to say it was renamed "Spectrum" before release.
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 18:48,
archived)
I once built a Snoopy adventure game in Sinclair Basic. I soaked up all 8 user-defined graphics available within three screens - including a lovely two-part graphic of Snoopy's bandaged wrist after he broke it on screen 2 - and then ran out of RAM. Probably should have learned assembly.
Edit: looking at the original post I phrased that really badly, it does make it look like there was a machine called the ZX82 released which was then renamed "Spectrum". Obviously you're right; I meant to say it was renamed "Spectrum" before release.

I can hear the straining mechanical sounds in my head... oh the memories
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 16:40,
archived)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6uwfM8F5uU
43 seconds just to load the picture.
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 18:01,
archived)
43 seconds just to load the picture.

Then again, the internet was like this with photographs in the 90s...
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 18:13,
archived)

My sisters didn't like it but bugger them, they didn't *need* to talk to their boyfriends, did they?
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 19:20,
archived)

Excellent shit-computer reminiscing, Boris. My Spaccy 48k had a prototype metal keyboard case. Weighed a ton. And was shit.
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 18:42,
archived)

And I got to the point where I could recognise which game was loading by the sound of the loading screen, or a particularly characteristic EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH near the end. Great days, especially when the EEEEEH was followed by a Horse Loading Error.
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 19:19,
archived)

EDIT: Best. Vandalism. Ever.
www.scifinow.co.uk/news/dredd-new-banner-poster/
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 12:59,
archived)
www.scifinow.co.uk/news/dredd-new-banner-poster/

But why all the Pope-bashing? He's head of a religion that promotes loving your neighbour and in particular young, innocent, people (the younger, the better, allegedly)... which advocates giving up your worldly possessions while he lives in luxury... which is against people having a choice as to whether they have children or not... and... hmmm, I see your point.

( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 14:15,
archived)


*Says 5 Rosaries and drinks 10 Bloody Marys*
(old joke, I know)
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 15:25,
archived)
(old joke, I know)

They may not absolve my sins, but they'd help me forget about them.
( ,
Sat 11 Aug 2012, 17:19,
archived)
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