Thomas C King

Yes, but what is art? Is a philosophical question, ask a BA. Black art? Has existed in the African content for millennia. I don't have a BA...

Yes, the geeks are still at the bottom of that hierarchy. But all modern Comp. Sci. degrees have a bit of 'real world' stuff where you learn how to alienate your team mates.

Personally I think the hardest bits of Comp. Sci. are actually formal-philosophical. A mixture of mathematical formalisation, with philosophical analysis, and theorems that have deeply philosophical implications. And most of the science bits, in the sense of empirical science, are really about using computers as a modelling tool for x (e.g., society), which isn't comp. sci. any more than astronomy is telescope science. The other science bits around how people use computers, including empirical science around the usability of languages, is partly psychology, and in some cases wholly. It's a mish mash.

The hangovers from being one of the oldest institutions. Physics was taught before BScs were invented, and before they were invented Oxford didn't allow you to study hard science until you had studied a liberal art (too difficult, innit). Hence, to allow an undergrad physics degree, it has to be a BA. But, you can get an MSc in a hard science because by then you would have studied a BA (a hard science one or not). Another example: most doctorates are not in philosophy in the modern sense, but they are in the old sense. So you get a PhD, unless you do it at Oxford, in which case it's a D.Phil...

Phew, some balance. I'm a newbie so was wondering why our trad stern has a stool if it's so dangerous. I sit on it if I just need to nudge the tiller occasionally with my elbow. Otherwise I stand in the engine bit. We do have gennie cables as an exciting trip hazard, though.

I thought most people would. I don't like the fumes so I turn it off after a short while.

You mean whatever carbon capture processes are used in industry, they are too expensive or not physically scalable down to what the average boat needs, or something else? I don't really know anything about the physics of it. Fizzy drinks? Pumped into the ground for fracking? Something else?

Question, are any of you doing anything to capture carbon from flue gas? A cursory search brings up more large-scale solutions for industry.

What a waste of risking everyone's life, raves are rubbish; generally awful music (you're not going to get top-flight DJs...), and you're not likely to find great conversation either.

Exactly. Of course, increased competition should bring the costs down (although counter-intuitively this isn't always the case, for reasons I won't go into). But, it's a slow way to get people to give up ICE, starting with early adopters and a small pool of people which limits the market's investment into expanding the infrastructure. There are probably knock-on effects for the development of more economic electric vehicles and related technologies as well.

I might be ignorant of the benefits of getting the market involved here, perhaps there is innovation through competition, but I just can't see it in this context. The infrastructure can be privately owned, and hence discourage people from taking up electric through higher costs. These costs will mean either not meeting climate targets, or banning ICE and harming the economy when people struggle to get on-board, or simply delaying uptake due to a chicken-or-egg situation where companies aren't installing because of lack of consumers and vice versa. Or, it can be publicly owned and energy provided at market rates.

That's sad, but not unexpected. I doubt disrepair is ever intentional. The kinds of boats I'm thinking of seem to be lived on by people who are at the end of their tether (mentally and physically), and then there are those vacant ones.

Does no-one else like how the boat looks? I'd change the colour to white, make it look the 60s vision of the future. In any case, aesthetics not really a reason not to do it, canal boats often don't look nice to me (especially the ones covered in moss).

Hi all, Thanks, to answer some of your questions. New pump: because the old one is broken. The new one is a Whale Gulper, and I couldn't determine the make of the old one. Pipe sizes: two reasons. One because I couldn't find a step-up from the copper pipe to the larger size that the whale gulper needs. I tried a few different sizes and flexible hose as well. I'm a novice so I might have just been looking in the wrong place (a Chandlery). The second reason is because the copper is the same size as the sink's, and the sink gets blocked easily. I think I'll have a look at Jen's suggested fix. I didn't realise it was/looks like a bodge, so thought it was some standard way of fitting pipes. Thanks all.

Very basic question. I need/want to swap this pipe coming out of the bath for a bigger one (so that I can replace the shower pump). I don't understand what it is connected to though. Does anyone know what that grey bit the copper is connected to is? And better yet, is it possible to somehow fit different sized pipes to it? The one coming out is quite narrow. Just help in identifying what it is will mean I can at least Google. Thanks!

Thought this was interesting. Ammonia as a way to store hydrogen. Less energy dense than diesel, but it'd be interesting to see how it compares to LiOn.

I just started a job where we get 8 quid each day to spend on Deliveroo orders, so would love to know if Deliveroo can use this. I know there is some kind of pinpointing on the deliveroo map but am sceptical that they'd find the boat.

I didn't realise there was a Duke of Lancaster, despite having lived there. What else don't I know, maybe she is in charge of CRT.

The whole "it's the second time they've had an issue so maybe it's them" thing doesn't quite add up to me. If you're on the canals you end up interacting with a lot of people, so a couple of difficult people a year seems like you're doing pretty good. Unless there have been many more incidents? It could be different tolerance levels for difficult people, perhaps a lot of people on this forum are thick skinned (or the YouTubers are thin skinned, depending on how you want to look at it). Another possibility is that whilst the canals have some great people, they are also a magnet for those that should be getting help and housing but just aren't. Sadly mental health issues and personality disorders can cause adverse social interactions, and I don't mean to insult anyone. I see quite a few people like this around Oxford on the canals. Recently one claimed we were trespassing on the public towpath along the Agenda21 moorings, he went on about him being in a meeting with the Duke of Lancaster who made the towpath private. The details aren't important, just see this kind of person relatively frequently (but by no means are they the most prominent 'group' of boaters).

To be fair, that was really more a reflection of the people whom the chatbot was learning from, rather than the tech company (MS, in this case).