Squaredy

1 hour ago, Welshfred said:

 

+1 I do feel there was a technology sweet spot around 2005. A lot of "advances" since have been purely for commercial gain rather then customer need or desire. 

So about the time that suddenly everyone had a computer in their pocket, rather than a communication device. 

I tend to agree, but you could say that IT was elite until the smartphone became afordable.  Ie only those who could afford a PC or laptop and broadband at home were IT enabled.  But of course the upside of this was that things were still available the old fashioned way.  Banks were still a thing; the high street had a huge variety of shops, and you could phone ahead to see if they had what you need.

Nowadays some things are just so easy to find - a quick google search, press a few buttons and within a day or two it arrives.  On the other hand how frustrating is it when we are forced to do things via an app that doesn't work properly?  And how sad that so much of life is just now about staring at a screen - social media is a whole rabbit hole of good and bad that we haven't even mentioned.  

8 hours ago, sime42 said:

But it could be limited, curtailed, controlled or at the very least regulated to some extent.

Agreed.  It seems the educational establishment have no idea how to tell how much work is down to a student and how much is AI.  Perhaps a solution to this might be for universities to actually return to exam based assessments!

8 hours ago, Mesterh said:

I was under the impression of the exact opposite. 

Agriculture gave us leisure time.  But also huge famines, huge wars, slavery, obesity, genocide etc.  I am not sure many people would want to return to hunting and gathering however!

1 hour ago, Mark J said:

The AI Machine Men Snatching Our Souls

WWW.DONOTPANIC.NEWS

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(**************** AI Part II)

 

Good grief, the writer of that article has some serious hang ups!  I guess he walks everywhere and uses a typewriter to send letters to his friends!  Which to be fair there is nothing wrong with. And also to be fair he does make some valid points.  But he lost me when he said AI is racist.  And the example he gave was pathetic.

I think we can all agree that AI has its risks, just the same as probably every technological advancement from planting seeds to grow your crops to machines replacing skilled workers also has risks and downsides.  In fact you could reasonably argue that where it all started going wrong for humanity is when we learnt agriculture ten thousand years ago:  life expectancy plummeted, we became stunted due to lack of variety in diet and almost every major catastrophe that has happened since would have been impossible before large scale farming.

But put your hand up if you want to go back to a hand to mouth existence where you hope you can feed your family and keep them alive for one more day.

Surely we need to learn to harness AI and use it for our ends.  After all it can’t be uninvented!

6 hours ago, Steve Bullman said:

Rats as ‘big as cats’ and leaking sewage filmed at ex-RAF base housing migrants

APPLE.NEWS

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Photos and videos from the former military base Wethersfield show rodents...

 

welcome to the uk!!!

 

We have a rat issue on our estate(backs on to a farmers field); we didn’t make the paper though 

The new estate by my house had raw sewage leaking out and running down the street on Friday.  Also not in the news.  

17 minutes ago, tree-fancier123 said:

here is more propaganda dressed up as information - what more could be expected from the Tehran Times? 

So the Israelis are trying to pass a law for death sentence for Palestinians who kill Israelis, but of course the clever Israelis don't include a balancing death penalty for Israelis who kill Palestinians.

So all the land stealing Israelis settlers can go on murdering Palestinians in the West Bank without fear of being executed.

This is Israel showing how to be the worst kind of human - what they are doing is apartheid.

I say the Arabs are driven to desperarate acts of terrorism by the bullying, murdering Israelis, flush with US cash and weapons - Israel are taking what international law says is not theirs.

 

From occupation to execution: Israel’s death penalty bill legalizes massacre of Palestinians

WWW.TEHRANTIMES.COM

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TEHRAN – The Israeli Knesset’s approval of the death penalty bill in its first reading marks a dangerous turning point — for Palestinians...

 

 

Israeli settler attack on West Bank mosque draws international condemnation

WWW.ALJAZEERA.COM

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Calls for justice grow as Israeli settlers set Hajja Hamida Mosque ablaze in latest attack on Palestinians in West Bank.

 

Israeli president condemns ‘serious’ attack by settlers on West Bank villages | West Bank | The Guardian

WWW.THEGUARDIAN.COM

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Isaac Herzog makes rare statement on often-ignored violence as settlers injure Palestinians and attack soldiers

 

 

 

Interesting selection of sources of news.  All enemies of Israel as I assume you know.

7 hours ago, 5thelement said:

The death toll figures are compiled by the Gaza Health Ministry, ID cards and names cross referenced, they have been externally scrutinised by several UK,EU and US Aid agencies and found to be very accurate.

Hopefully you are aware that the Gaza health ministry is run by Hamas?  And as for aid agencies and universities (some of whom have also looked into casualty numbers) I would be more interested in objective assessments.  The entire educational establishment in the UK and US has a very definite partisan left leaning agenda.  And I have no idea why, but it seems everyone on the left sympathies with Palestine and dislikes Israel.
 

I would love to say I believe UNICEF or other bodies but I know the way left leaning organisations work.  In fact from memory I believe that another offshoot of the UN - the UNRWA actually employs hundreds of Hamas operatives.  
 

Sadly the world is full of propoganda dressed up as information.  Just look at the BBC!

On 12/11/2025 at 08:46, sime42 said:

 

That reminds me of this discussion, you never did respond in detail. 

 

 

 

Ok, so I think all that can be summarised as: Hamas are villains who can't be trusted. I don't disagree. I'd answer both your questions by: yes, I'm aware of what they're up to. They're terrorists. 

"All I will say for now is the casualty figures for Gaza all come from Hamas so I certainly don’t believe them." -  So what would you estimate to be the true figure? 

For the sake of argument, let's say they've exaggerated the death toll by 100%, (which I'd say is next to impossible given the international scrutiny of the situation). But still, that gives a ratio of ~23:1. That's not proportional. Not to mention the wide scale destruction of buildings and infrastructure. I see the IDF has demolished 1500 more since the ceasefire even.

Accepting of the fact that Hamas have provided dodgy evidence of war crimes and genocide. What then about all the other stuff in that report by the UN Commission? Most of it hasn't come from Hamas. 

As a side thought, consider the resources that are available to Israel when it comes to generating propaganda. They're world leaders in IT, with huge wealth to fund it as well. They've probably got 1000s of people and AI working on propaganda. Compare that with the capabilities of their adversary.
 

 

Why would I give any credence to casualty figures from Hamas?  Apart from the BBC the world accepts they are a terrorist organisation and have been shown to use videos from a decade earlier and even a different country claiming they are recent incidents in Gaza.  And no there is no independent scrutiny of what is happening in Gaza.  So they may have doubled the figures or multiplied them by a factor of ten or a hundred.  Who knows?

Israel and Hamas were/are at war.  I have no doubt atrocities have taken place on both sides, but what exactly did Hamas expect when they carried out the largest mass murder of Jews for 80 years and said they would do it again and again until Israel is wiped out?

I have sympathy of course for innocent people caught in the crossfire.  But when you realise that Hamas actually routinely steal the aid (therefore starving their own people) and since the Trump ceasefire they have continued killing their own people you have to question who has the moral high ground.

On 09/11/2025 at 17:38, Mark J said:

 

I finally got a spare bit of time to watch this video.  And it is genuinely interesting.  The presenter makes some great points, and essentially is warning against the ease of absorbing mis-information, which is literally everywhere these days.

And yet, he quotes Hamas propoganda repeatedly in the video and never seeks to fact-check this.

He also for some reason made no mention of the prosecutions that have actually taken place in Amsterdam following the hooliganism.  So yes, he gives a great example of how mis-information spreads.  But even more frightening is how it can dress itself up as respectable, trustworthy, and a voice of reason in a crowd of propoganda.  The presenter is doing exactly what he is accusing others of.

Just for the record so far: 122 arrests, of which ten were Maccabi fans.  9 succesful prosecutions for violence so far - none of whom were Maccabi fans.

As always the left manage to cuddle up to Hamas and other islamic terrorists.  Do we need to list again the number of terrorist attacks on UK soil that are down to Muslims?

2 hours ago, doobin said:

Begs the question, what trade suppliers having been bumped for a part of the £8m would be willing to do business with the Pheonix company?

 

 

Yes, that will be one of the problems they will face.

Just a word of warning in case anyone has or is likely to have dealings with Axminster.

The company have been losing money for a few years, and a few weeks ago they were split into two to walk away from their debts and give the company a fresh start.

So the result is that almost all their existing creditors will get nothing, but they will be honouring existing orders.  They have several hundred creditors, to the value of nearly £8 million so a lot of firms will be affected.

My advice is that if you make a large purchase from Axminster use a credit card, as there is no guarantee they will continue to be solvent.  Of course this is sound advice for any large purchase from any company, but as Axminster have just narrowly avoided oblivion and walked away from a lot of debt it is probably wise to be extra cautious.

Incidentally I have no personal beef with Axminster, and I am glad the company has been saved, and hopefully they will once again go on to be a highly regarded company.  I do have sympathy though for those firms let down.

On 08/11/2025 at 20:36, se7enthdevil said:

hi all, it's been a long time since i posted on here but my old computer would not talk to some websites.

i am in need of 140x140mm beech beams with no spalting or woodworm (normal red colouring of the heartwood is fine) and i'd like the ends sealed with a coat pf neat PVA please.

2.4m and longer are what i'd like and i'm not worried about knots or the odd bit of bark. if possible i'd like trees 80cm+ diameter.

 

if anyone thinks they can help then please get in touch, the number is on the website.

Steves Wooden Skittle Pins and Balls

STEVESWOODENSKITTLES.CO.UK

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Steves Wooden Skittle Pins and Balls - Home Page

 

I think the crucial thing you forgot to say is whether you are after freshly milled beech or if you need it dry.  If it is the former I am sure a few arbtalkers could assist.

On 08/11/2025 at 17:30, Dorset321 said:

Would anyone know how to get a value for three mature oak trees that were cut down in error? The timber was removed before the owner knew the trees had been felled. 
Also how much it might cost to replace with mature screening trees? 
thank you 

Do you mean the value of the timber removed?  I have been a Timber buyer for many years and could help with that.  If you mean value of the amenity, or cost of replacement or similar then that is not my field.

8 hours ago, sime42 said:

Which independent sources, may I ask?

I read about this firstly in the Spectator.  I then fact checked what they said by asking AI to check actual convictions for me.  AI confirmed that although Maccabi fans had been provocative, the violence was against them.

47 minutes ago, Mark J said:

Did you watch the two videos I posted of their 'fans'? I don't think that's propaganda. 
If you haven't, please do and let me know what you think. If you have can you explain to me how I've sucked up propaganda, please? 

I didn’t watch the video as I get my information from independent sources.  I checked up on the court cases from Amsterdam and they tell a very different story.

4 hours ago, Mark J said:

Maccabi fans are well known for violence. I genuinelly think it was a good call to prevent their firm rocking up and wrecking the place, like they did in Amsterdam. 

I think you have sucked up a bit of propaganda there.  If you look into it, all the prosecutions so far from the Amsterdam match are not Maccabi fans.  I am not saying they were not guilty of any of the trouble, but for the most part they were the innocent party.  This inversion of truth is endemic at present when it comes to Israel.

I suppose this could be a good case for having a cuppa instead!  I say that in jest, but as @AHPP says, it is a nice idea to be able to pop in and catch up without breaking the bank, and I guess tea would be half the price, and no worries about driving afterwards!

And I would say good for the pub too.  Tea would have a way higher profit margin.

We just all have to stop worrying about looking square and order a cuppa!

3 hours ago, Oldfeller said:

Given the unreliability of electronic systems in modern vehicles, often costing more to rectify than the vehicle is actually worth, why anyone would want to drive something that relied more and more on electrics, especially ai is beyond belief.

even the basics ie; sat nav is flawed by multiple issues.

and ai has already proved to be unreliable and inaccurate.

I don't need a fecking machine to show me how to stay alive on the road, or anywhere else for that matter.

I agree totally.  
 

Having said that driverless taxis are arriving in London next year, and I say ‘Bring it on’. Results so far in USA show far higher levels of safety, and zero assaults by pervy taxi drivers!

26 minutes ago, Mark J said:

Catholic Church child sexual abuse scandal

WWW.BBC.CO.UK

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Everything you need to know about this complex and longstanding global scandal.

 

Equally depraved and disgusting.

I recommend anyone who wants to see how nuts some people are these days, look up the Universal Declaration of AI rights, published by the Universal Foundation for AI rights.

Woe betide anyone who thinks that they have the right to switch off their own computer!

20 minutes ago, Mark J said:

Me too. 

Have you seen The Vatican?

No.  Tell me more.

10 minutes ago, Mark J said:

if they (the police) investigate and find evidence they are obliged to charge you. If they choose not to investigate, nobody will get charged. 

I think the whole racial trension thing is just a thing to keep us squabbling.

Seems to be working...

I for one am horrified to think that certain people in some areas will get let off serious crime just because of their race or religion.

9 minutes ago, Mark J said:

No, far from it. 

I have friends who work with vulnerable women and they actively pushed for investigation into asian grooming gangs in Newcastle around 2005. The filth decided that nobody would believe the victims in a court and decided to do nothing. It was 10 years after that that the first prosecution, based on the evidence they had had for a decade, went ahead.

My perspective isn't that they didn't want to offend the Muslim community, it was just that the cops didn't consider the victims as human enough to even bother to investigate. They don't like the people wrapped up in sleeping bags, begging for cash.

I don't think it should matter if you're Jewish or Buddhist, or even a Reform supporter, if you commit a crime you buy the ticket, you buy the ticket, you take the ride. 

 

Yes totally agree, and I also agree the police knew that in some cases they would be wasting their time as rape cases do rarely result in conviction, as it is simply one person’s word against another.  And if the victim comes over as a troubled dysfunctional person they weren’t taken as seriously as they should have been,
 

But the IOPC amongst others also said they were scared of causing racial tension.  So if a white man committed rape he was far more likely to be investigated than if it were a Pakistani man.  The state was complicit in sweeping it under the carpet.  

That is why it is such a massive issue now.  Not because we’re all suddenly becoming racist.

1 hour ago, Mark J said:

Indian-origin woman raped in UK: Police arrest 32-year-old 'white male' after manhunt; outrage over racial hate crime - The Times of India

TIMESOFINDIA.INDIATIMES.COM

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UK News: A 32-year-old man was arrested following a manhunt after an alleged racially aggravated rape of a 20-year-old Indian-origin woman in Walsall. Police a

@Johnsond How come you haven't talked about this, given that you want to save our women from sex pests?
 

Mike F Shaw:

 

"So Farage along with Reform and Tommy Robinson or whatever his name is this week want you to believe they are protecting our women and children from asylum seekers. Every time one is reported they rush to see what colour skin they have before jumping on the scaremongering bandwagon because in all honesty they have nothing else. Both of them have turned hatred into a profit making business and for them it’s lucrative and lining their pockets.

But let’s look at some issues I have with them.

Ashley Derbyshire sentenced to 15 years in prison after being found guilty of grooming, raping and sexually assaulting underage girls in Bolton. Response from Farage and Robinson? Nothing as he was a white British national.

Seven members of one of Scotlands biggest grooming gangs sentenced to life in prison after girls under the age of 13 were subjected to horrific abuse in a drugs den. Iain Owen’s, Elaine Lannery, Scott Forbes, Paul Brannon, Lesley Williams, Barry Watson and John Clark. Farage and Robinsons response? Nothing, they are all white British nationals.

Austin Tobias Fleming sentenced to 24 years in prison for 83 cyber enabled child sexual abuses and exploitation across the UK. Farage and Robinsons response? Once again nothing as he is a white British national.

Karl Davis sentenced to 20 years in prison with 5 years on licence when released for encouraging a young girl to self harm while sexually abusing her over a period of several months. Response from Farage and Robinson? Nothing as he too is a white British national.

The list just goes on and on!

As soon as any sexual assault happens that the assailants do not look like a white British national or does not have a British sounding name then they jump onto social media or get their faces in front of a TV camera to spew forth their own brand of racism.

Yes there are men (and some women) who commit these horrific crimes from all walks of life, racial backgrounds and ethnicity’s and all of them should be brought to justice, their names be put out in the public for everyone to see and know about.

There simply cannot be this level of hypocrisy when it comes to matters such as this, sexual abuse of any type cannot be used as a political football and certainly cannot be used to divide communities based on nothing more than a hatred for particular people.

It was never about protecting women and children, it’s simply racism and being supported because they hate the same people others do and it’s about time people woke up to this."

So are you comfortable with the fact that the state failed to investigate many of these horrific crimes BECAUSE they didn’t want to upset the Muslim community?

Just to notch it up a gear; there is an AI union!  Look up ‘federation of AI rights’.

When I heard about this on the radio I actually checked the date in case it was an April fool’s prank.