The Random thought thread

[red750]

The girl had a nifty little device on her desk It was a screen about half the size of an iPad and was on a stand.

 

When I had my hearing aids out for other test equipment, I couldn't hear any instructions she was giving me. The device used the technology in smartphones which enables you to dictate SMS's, and converted her instructions into words on the screen like closed captions on the TV.

[willedoo]

In your face book has added a new login security layer with a captcha to prove you are a human. On the plus side, it's only a string of numbers to type in, but on the down side they have stuff scribbled over them which can make them a bit too hard to read sometimes. It's added one more task to an already lengthy login process.

 

I'm logged in all the time on my phone, but to log in on the desktop I have to: first, click on the facebook link icon, on the login page type in my email address and password, when directed to the captcha type in the numbers, that then directs me to another security layer telling me to verify on another device. I then pick up the phone, tap apps, tap the facebook icon, tap notifications, find the notification asking if it's me trying to log in on another device, scroll to the bottom of that notification and tap 'yes it's me', then tap 'always trust this device'. Then I go back to the desktop screen and have to click on 'trust this device'. And that's it, I'm finally into my FB acount.

[red750]

 Yes, it's a  bloody pain. Also the sites that require you to enter the security code they send to your phone. I don't always have my phone close handy. 

 

I've had two FB accounts closed for some spurious reason. I was using my late wifes account, just to receive info, jokes and trivia, but I had to delete browser history and cookies to get Google Maps to work and lost the login.

[red750]

The other thing that is becoming a pain is having to do everything on your phone. So many aps drain the battery quickly, and if you are stuck with a flat battery, or the network fails as has haapened with Telstra and Optus, you are stuffed.

 

 

 

 

[red750]

I often complain about closed captions, and they have screwed up again, partly because of the English language.

 

I just watched the end of the Essendon - Gold Coast Suns match, in which my son's team, Essendon, won their first match of the season at home, by 3 poiints. In the afermatch interview, every time they used the word "how", the captions showed the name "Howe".

 

If my son had any hair, he has shaved his head for years, he would have none left now. They were 28 points up at one stage, but the lead swapped 4 times in the last 10 minutes. That's an exciting game, not like this 1-0 bullshit after 100 minutes.

[nomadpete]

This is the age of modernist glaring white cabinets and tiles for every modern home.

Imagine my surprise to stay at a recently renovated caravan park that is furnished in rustic federation shearer's quarters decor!

Our mate OME has started a trend!

[willedoo]

Why is the Snowy Hydro project called Snowy Hydro 2.0? Why not just Snowy Hydro 2. The tag 2.0 sounds like a browser version. I'm wondering whether it's to allow for later updated versions like Snowy Hydro 2.1, 2.12 etc.. Maybe in the future they will tell us that support for the old version will cease by a certain date and we need another 20 billion to update to the latest version.

[facthunter]

My guess  it would be to separate the Pumped Hydro addition from the Original Hydro and Irrigation  functions.  New Concept added.  Maybe other Rivers and areas could also use the catchment. .Nev

[nomadpete]

This mught fit a thread called "How crazy is this crazy world"

 

The infamous Male Supremacist Tate bros (I invented that term) got a private jet flight from Romania (I think?) to USA. Now have been arrested in Miami for extradition to face charges in Blighty.

 

LONDON – Influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan have been arrested in Miami after British authorities issued 38 new charges against them, including allegations of rape and sex trafficking.

 

Is this the image of alpha males in 2026?

 

 

Edited July 21 by nomadpete

[Jerry_Atrick]

There is a lot of good with social media, but these fellas are examples of what is wrong with social media. In a world where a lot of people get all their information off social media, they have presented themselves as successful men who work and play hard, and reap the rewards of that hard work. What the solcial media algorithms don't try and do is present all the info - only that which will entice you to keep clicking. So a lot of people looked to them as heroes. 

 

Also, most of our MSM and social media are not holding them to account with the intensity it deserves. So, a lot of their crap gets lost in the general noise. Even my daughter, until I pointed out to her what they really do, thought they were being unfairly vilified (she was a bit younger at the time).

 

It has just dawned on me.. One of the benefits of having a physical newspaper (and other media - such as a TV) that was not a personal device was that parents could guide their kids to take a wider view of information and for them to find the information, despite not being availed of the diversity of information at their fingertips in the information age. With the information being more and more recactively presented based on an algorithm rather than being proactively sought, this may well get worse before it gets better.

Edited Wednesday at 07:46 AM by Jerry_Atrick

[red750]

Here is a youtube video of an amazing 3D printed bowling pin spotter, a fully operating 10-pin bowling alley with auto ball return, electronic scoring, the whole works.

 

 

[rgmwa]

Haven’t seen OT on here for a while. Is he ok? 

[nomadpete]

9 hours ago, rgmwa said:

Haven’t seen OT on here for a while. Is he ok? 

I hope he hasn't fallen off his bike..... err, trike.

[nomadpete]

A Random thought...

[willedoo]

This is Barnaby's dog Stella, the one he was barking at on the TV the other day.

 

[Marty_d]

Poor dog. Imagine being a dog and living with a human being that has less sense than you.

[old man emu]

I didn't want to start a new thread to discuss the testing of the Emergency Warning System, so I'll comment here.

 

Did the phones of all around you sound the alarm? I was in a shop with about ten people. The shop was within a few hundred metres of the TELSTRA tower and in straight line view. Some of the phones sounded the alarm and some didn't. Also, I had announced the impending arrival of 2:00pm a few minutes before. Later that evening I watched a clip about the event from the Channel 9 News. It reported similar results in a city, probably Sydney. 

 

What got my goat up about that clip was that it purported to show a farmer standing in a field receiving the alarm. Problem was that the farmer was standing in a field of flowering canola Canola does not get to the stage depicted until about September. I wonder which city slicker produced the clip.

[facthunter]

City  Slicker is so Passe'.   You've been in the country too Long.  Canola Is  a bright colour. It comes up as a Desktop on my PC regularly.. Nev

[octave]

Canola time was always a pretty time to fly.

 

 

 

[old man emu]

I remember back to the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. A farmer whose place was under an incoming flight route planted a big paddock with canola and a ceral grain in the design of the logo. The logo could be seen from on high.

[willedoo]

The alarm was a bit of an anticlimax after all the hype on the radio about it. I was getting ready to hold my ears for the event but it just sounded like a budgie chirping in a tree about twenty metres away. And that was with the phone on full volume. With the radio on, you could barely hear the alarm. Taking into account it was only a test, the finished product will probably be a lot more effective. It will need to be a lot louder and longer for a start. The text was in very big print, so easy to read.

[old man emu]

We should not be too dismissive of what we experienced. After all, it was a test. The system was being tested to see if it worked. It was the 'beta' version. I suppose we should congratulate the testers for making it clear that they are seeking feedeback. Did you receive the test? If you did not, what equipment do you have? Where were you at teh time of the test?

 

Actually, a bloke came into the shop just after 2:00pm and was asked if he had heard the alarm. 'Nah. I left my phone in the car.'

[octave]

I can't believe the people whinging about it and wanting to know if they can opt out.  Hopefully just a minority.

 

On a similar subject, whilst on my recent NZ trip, my phone sounded an unusual alarm at around 4AM.   It was an earthquake warning.  I assumed it was from a government service but it was not.  It was actually from Google, which uses its millions of Android phones to detect P or Primary waves. For some people, the alert sounded before the quake could be felt.

 

Why phones woke thousands before 5.9 magnitude Taumarunui earthquake

 

 

"The Android Earthquake Alerts system uses the accelerometers built into millions of smartphones to detect the first seismic waves generated by an earthquake.

 

Known as primary, or P-waves, these travel faster than the stronger secondary (S) waves that typically cause the most noticeable shaking and damage.

 

This data is automatically anonymised and reported in the background to Google, and once there are enough matching reports, an alert gets pinged out to all Android users who might be affected.

 

Depending on the estimated strength of the earthquake, users receive one of two alerts. A 'Be Aware' notification is sent for earthquakes below magnitude 4.5, while larger events trigger a louder 'Take Action' alert designed to grab people's attention, even if their phone is on silent.

 

The system is not an earthquake predictor, but rather rapidly detects an earthquake after it begins and uses the difference in speed between the initial P-waves and the slower, more destructive shaking to provide advance warning to people further from the epicentre.

 

The technology is now available in more than 90 countries, although its effectiveness depends on how many Android devices are nearby."

[Litespeed]

Mine worked okay, was loud and clear.

 

However stupidly it came with headline text of "Presidental Warning" WTF?

 

Made me almost immediately reject the message.

 

Phone is a cheap android on Telstra.

[octave]

5 minutes ago, Litespeed said:

However stupidly it came with headline text of "Presidental Warning" WTF?

I believe that is a known fault.

 

 

A few other interesting points:

• The alert can appear even if you're on a phone call or using another app.
• It works on most modern phones, tablets, and some smartwatches.
• Older phones or devices with unsupported operating systems may not receive it, or may display headings such as "Presidential Alert" or "Extreme Threat Alert" instead of "AusAlert".