test please delete

[DoctorStrangelove]

An L42A1 would be my weapon of choice from a suitable grassy knoll!

If it's smaller than a 50 cal Barrett you've got no chance.

[DoctorStrangelove]

Well the box has gone totally & utterly tits up now.

Endless retries of the wireless login thing.

I'm currently on the one & only box in the lab, so it's just as well there's no customers here coz it's being shown on the wall as well.

[NickFitz]

Problem solved: sliced turkey in a wholemeal bap, with a bag of plain crisps

This, again

[DoctorStrangelove]

Afternoon denizens

Quite sunny and Simpsonesque out

WNFS.

Apparently there's a storm coming.

By Tuesday.

But I've seen no sign of the chick in the jeep with the Alsatian dog.

Yet.

[covbob]

Hello all

More pimps on the phone, but thankfully it looks like things might be happening. The most promising leads seem to keep falling through but at least I've a couple of phone interviews lined up now.

When did it become the norm for clients to want a phone interview followed by a face to face interview? I'm told that's "really quick" by several pimps. It always used to be they'd spend ten minutes on the phone asking awkward technical questions and then offer the contract based on that.

[DoctorStrangelove]

Naturally enough, after me tearing my hair out for an hour and a half, 30 seconds before the tech walked in the fecker fixed itself, making me look even more of a twat than normal.

[NickFitz]

And I've wasted loads of time mucking about with GeoDjango. I got it set up to use a separate database and created models to access the OpenStreetMap data, which was fine. The next step was to define a bounding box and get points lying within it.

And could I get it to work? Could I heck as like

I knew the OSM data was stored in the SRI that Google Maps uses; a spherical Mercator projection measuring in metres from somewhere or other. And I wanted to define my bounding box in "standard" latitude and longitude, also known as WSG84. So I created a rectangular polygon, and used a function to transform it to the correct SRI; but no matter what, PostGIS insisted every single point was to the left of the box. I ended up with a box that went the full -180 to 180 and -90 to 90, but still everything was to the left of it

Finally, I switched to getting the database to transform the points to WSG84, and suddenly it all worked

That'll do for now; I'll optimise it as and when I have to

Ah! There in the documentation, an aside to the effect that the model classes assume WSG84 unless told otherwise, so naturally they were interpreting the SRID900913 contents of the database such as -130,000 meters as being -130,000 degrees, and therefore well to the left of everything

I've told the models what the true nature of the stuff in the database is, and now it all works as expected

One of those things that makes you wonder if actually reading the documentation, rather than skimming through bits of it as and when, might have been a good idea

[NickFitz]

Hello all

More pimps on the phone, but thankfully it looks like things might be happening. The most promising leads seem to keep falling through but at least I've a couple of phone interviews lined up now.

When did it become the norm for clients to want a phone interview followed by a face to face interview? I'm told that's "really quick" by several pimps. It always used to be they'd spend ten minutes on the phone asking awkward technical questions and then offer the contract based on that.

I used to have to schlepp around doing face-to-face interviews, and it was a right pain: driving to Bristol and back for the sake of a thirty-minute chat about XSLT and a cup of instant coffee is a right hassle. (Though admittedly that led to two years of well-paid work, much of it from home, so that one was probably worth it in the end.)

But for the last few years - just about every gig this decade, in fact - most things have been done and dusted on the phone (or, on one notable occasion, on Twitter).

It'll be very annoying if you're encountering an up-and-coming trend and we have to have to start going to places in advance again

[NickFitz]

Naturally enough, after me tearing my hair out for an hour and a half, 30 seconds before the tech walked in the fecker fixed itself, making me look even more of a twat than normal.

Always the way

[DoctorStrangelove]

driving to Bristol and back for the sake of a thirty-minute chat about XSLT and a cup of instant coffee is a right hassle. (Though admittedly that led to two years of well-paid work, much of it from home, so that one was probably worth it in the end.)

I still haven't got over driving for 5 hours to Cambridge, not even being offered a glass of water, then driving 5 hours back to Neath.

Simoco, I'm glad that you got closed down you bastards.

Oh yes, they were the lot that expected "commitment" from their contractors and didn't pay overtime.

Sounds like a lucky escape to me.

Well there's a thing:

https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/bus...epura-12331729


https://mlexmarketinsight.com/insigh...ional-security

Sold to the Chinese.

Dunno wot the fuss is about, the chinese supply most of the telecoms infrastructure.

Those the gods wish to destroy they first make mad.

The gods seem to be doing a fecking good job in this country and no mistake.

There's some glorious golden sunshine out there at the moment.

I miss old zeity.

Gone, never to darken these doors ever again.


Couldn't look at the sunset because this house doesn't have a window looking in that direction.

In the parents' house, the back bedroom window gave a fine view of sunsets.

Mind you, it also got unbearably hot in the summer.

Tea, this evening was lentil <pffffft> soup, which was quite nice, it not having any of that unpleasant batch in it.

Followed by stewed apple & custard.

There won't be much more of that since the apples are nearly all gone now.

The pears, those the jackdaws have left, are still like rocks, and at least one has hard pit.

Now wondering what to watch this evening.

Interview about the film with director and-writer Alfonso Cuarón: Alfonso Cuarón’s Children of Men Is a Dystopian Masterpiece

Not exactly enjoying this, it must be said.

Though never heard King Crimson used as background music before.

In fact, if it wasn't for Michael Caine it wsuldn't have got past 15 minutes.

I suspect I'm dystopiaed out.

Though it hasn't quite plumbed the depths of "The Road".

The roads, however, appear to be in splendid repair, unlike today's potholed examples.