Krueger's Korner - The Off-Topic Chat Thread

I doubt I'll get a pair for a few years, but I expect I will eventually succumb to their charms, whether they are made by Google or somebody else. Even at this early stage their capabilities are enormous, simply because they can be connected to the Net. They aren't style over substance like so many good looking hi-tech products are, but can be really useful, taking over from the smartphone, for example, in many respects. The only problem could be keeping hold of them, because I suspect that theft could be very easy, so they'll need to secure them like credit and debit cards.

 

Game of Thrones marketing anyone?

[NSFW][video=youtube;sJCBRepFi2g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJCBRepFi2g[/video][/NSFW]

 

What kind of train journey takes eight hours?!

 

Just having a look at Linux Mint 16 Petra, on a live disc. Not bad at all. Can I see myself without Windows..? Not bloody likely, but going back to a decent Linux setup is refreshing as it just works, with no frills and no surprises.

Certainly it'll do while I get around to choosing which OS is going to replace good ol' insecure XP.

 

Combination of trains to take today. Northwich to Guildford, pop in to pick up bag, straight back to the train to go to Fareham, pop home to drop off bag, then off to Southampton and back. Combined train time of eight hours.

 

A long one..? I once did Glasgow Central [no, not the last train though it felt like it] to Southampton Central in 13 hours because my sleek Virgin train which would have taken 6 hours broke down in Edinburgh.
Because the Station master was ill informed, he told me to get on the replacement train he was pointing at, and not wait for my actual intended Virgin train. The Virgin train overtook my replacement train very quickly, because my replacement train went into the sidings for an hour somewhere in England, to let it pass. Therefore, the 103 quid return fare I spent for a one way trip of dreams and another of nightmares was hugely bad value, and when I complained to Virgin I was given a token for a pizza which I sent back. Never again [unless desperate], not Virgin, not other random railway companies, nor trains..!

Which is a shame because I like choo-choos. I'll stick to trains like The Watercress Line.

 

Oh wow, **** that.

Also what would possess you to go to Cheshire?

 

Ah Virgin trains are great, aren't they? Stories like that are why I stick religiously to my scheduled train routes

Friends who live at various distances with Cheshire somewhere in the middle. But yeah **** doing that again. It'd be okay if not for the post Guildford stuff.

 

I tend to only go by train where there is a direct train. Limits you a bit, though I was delighted to go direct to York from Southampton. Am off to Newcastle in the summer...trying to decide between many hours on train or pay more and fly. Just me I'd fly, but hard to press other people into it who don't mind a lifetime on a train. Have to say, anything is better than by coach. Once caught a coach to Victoria from Portsmouth...two hours later, we were in Winchester. Never again.

 

When I lived near Ashford, Kent, around 2000, I rang up the Rail ticket office one day to book a through ticket/route from Ashford to Southampton, via the South Coast, 1) because there were huge delays at Waterloo, and 2) because I really liked the idea of doing the alternative route.

I was told that this was impossible. I could not travel on a through ticket, and the combined ticket price of changing at Lewes (just walking across the platform) was over double the Waterloo route.

So I told them to stuff it and I drove the car. Cheaper, quicker, more comfortable, and I got to choose the music..! I only tried the train idea because I thought it might be a nice experience.

I believe these days it can be done on one ticket.

 

Probably telling my grandmother how to suck eggs, but, if going on a long planned trip, buy the tickets months in advance for a sizable reduction. I told trainline when I wanted to go and the website e-mailed me when the cheap tickets were released 3 months in advance of that date. With a train card, got a return to York for £34.

 

Hence I mentioned the year 2000. They hadn't got around to such innovations at that time.

 

So that's it for Windows XP Pro from me. On the whole it's been a relatively trouble free experience through the years [crikey, 12 of them]. Hardly a problem virus wise, even though I've barely used anti-virus protection throughout my usage since about 2002-03. It got better and better, and it's no wonder people don't like surrendering it. You don't have to even now, if you're offline, but people will inevitable run into problems if they keep it, and I barely attend to any XP problems these days, as many people I know have moved on, so it's a natural time I did.

So thanks Windows XP Pro, it was bloody nice going. Still got all all my OS discs, right back to Windows 3.0, and DOS, anyway, so I can still fire them up for old times sake. What's this I'm using now..? Linux Mint 16 Petra. It checked out very well yesterday, so I'm using it temporarily, and it might even become permanent, though I doubt it. Usually, I find I get fed up after a while because Linux is often a little too quirky and rough around the edges. Far, far better than any Apple OS, of course, and that might go without saying, but I thought I'd mention it anyway, as you knew I would.

 

Joe/Dan/anyone else who has legal experience, I have a sport law question that I want to ask, if you don't mind.

As you know the Women's Super League starts soon and that's obviously an attempt to make women's more professional and the clubs are getting lots of financial support from the FA (relatively speaking) and are all signing their players on contracts and so on. The problem is, a lot of WSL clubs can cherry-pick the best players from non-WSL teams and currently don't have to spend a single penny in compensation with just seven days notice. Portsmouth have lost 4 or 5 players to the WSL since last summer and have recieved nothing in return.

In the Women's Premier League, a number of clubs have attempted give their players contracts in order to protect the club from clubs from the WSL coming in and cherry-picking their players without compensation, as clearly they'd have to pay some kind of transfer fee or compensation.... However the FA have blocked these attempts and have apparently stated that no club outside of the WSL is allowed to give a contract to any of their players regardless of whether they have the money or desire to. I'm just wondering, is that legal? Could that hold up in a court of law? To me, that sounds like it completely contravenes employment law, but I've never studied law.

I'd be very interested to hear your views on this.

 

A few years ago I travelled from Southampton to Torquay with a one way ticket that cost me exactly £12.

 

One of the artists I work with lives in Devon. If we plan things well, she can get a return to Brighton and back for £9.00 which is pretty remarkable.

 

Were you shoveling the coal in Godders?

 

He was leading the horse. Canal was the way to travel in Godders' youth!

 

At that price, it was more likely the bodies of sacrificed children.

 

I know nothing about women's football; do WPL clubs have professional status? If not, they can't offer their players pro contracts. It's actually professional football, if anything, which contradicts employment law as it blocks free movement of workers.