HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
Newsgroups: uk.transport
From: dplumb@cix.compulink.co.uk (Dave Plumb)
Subject: Usefull Motorway Messages               
Cc: dplumb@cix.compulink.co.uk
Reply-To: dplumb@cix.compulink.co.uk
Date: Fri, 25 Dec 1992 17:08:00 +0000

> and accident or something.  The sign slowly loomed out of the fog.... 
> closer and closer until eventually I could see what it said.  It said "Fog" 
They're programmed for preset responses, some of them don't even have "Fog". 
 
A firmware upgrade a while back added "Fog" and the new legend for the old 
all clear symbol (they now say "End"). 
 
I still think they could do with an abbreviation for "The traffic is 
stationary 3 miles ahead and you should leave at the next exit" but I'm not 
sure what the abbrev would be... 
 
"FO3M"       ? 
 
The signs are too simple for todays needs; if it were a real matrix sign they 
could flash something meaningful up, you're a bit limited by the 24x24 or 
whatever they are..
From: steve@acorn.co.uk (Steve "daffy" Hunt)
Newsgroups: uk.transport
Subject: Re: Usefull Motorway Messages
Date: 24 Dec 92 16:24:47 GMT
Organization: Acorn Computers Limited, Cambridge, UK
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL8]

Steve Sherwood (sts@mfltd.co.uk) wrote:
: unreasnable speeds.  Last night on the M4, 4 Mercs, 2 BMW's and a Range Rover
: overtook me, at least 30mph faster.  If there was an accident.. They would
: never stop in time.   And why is it only the Mercs etc..?  Even the company
: reps in their Sierra has the sense to slow down in those conditions.

Those cars go with a certain type of position and lifestyle.  I think
that the sort of people who aspire to and attain that sort of position
and status tend to be aggressive and egotistical.  Doesn't seem
implausible that this is reflected in the way they drive.  I expect a
load of people will now post and claim that it is the other way round,
and we'd all be safer drivers if these vehicles were banned, but I
doubt that.  It's a case of you drive what you are, not you are what
you drive.
-- 
				Steve Hunt	steve@acorn.co.uk
From: sts@mfltd.co.uk (Steve Sherwood)
Subject: Usefull Motorway Messages
Reply-To: sts@mfltd.co.uk
Organization: Micro Focus Ltd, Newbury, England
Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1992 09:36:22 GMT

It was a dark night, on the M4, driving away from london when suddenly it
started to get foggy, thicker and thicker until I slowed down to about 20mph
crawling along.  After half an hour I saw some flashing amber lights in the
central reservation.  One of the Matix signs.  I wondered if there had been
and accident or something.  The sign slowly loomed out of the fog.... closer
and closer until eventually I could see what it said.  It said "Fog" :-|
Usefull Huh ?

Also, driving along the motorway, as fast as I could safely go, that is to
say stopping distance.  There is always people who hurtle past at completely 
unreasnable speeds.  Last night on the M4, 4 Mercs, 2 BMW's and a Range Rover
overtook me, at least 30mph faster.  If there was an accident.. They would
never stop in time.   And why is it only the Mercs etc..?  Even the company
reps in their Sierra has the sense to slow down in those conditions.

Steve

-- 
+-----------------------------------+------------------------+ Micro Focus
| Just like Pariah, I have no name, |    rm -rf *            | 26 West Street
| Living in a blaze of obscurity,   |      "rum ruff splat"  | Newbury
| Need courage to survive the day.  |                        | Berkshire
+-----------------------------------+------------------------+ England
      Extn 5543, sts@mfltd.co.uk, !uunet!mfocus!sts
From: alisonjw@spider.co.uk (Alison J Wyld)
Newsgroups: uk.transport
Subject: Re: Rear End Drivers etc
Date: 30 Dec 92 13:51:56 GMT
Distribution: uk
Organization: Spider Systems Limited, Edinburgh, UK.

In article <1992Dec23.164034.10429@praxis.co.uk> martin@praxis.co.uk (Martin Croxford) writes:
>
>The "hogging" problem (and the "speed inappropriate for conditions"
>problem) will only be solved by education. A friend recently
>told me, eight weeks after passing his test, that the 2nd lane is the
>cruiser lane, the 1st lane is the slow lane and the 3rd lane is the fast
>lane. This would be funny if it wasn't so dangerous. Changing tack
>slightly, I advocate a two-tier driving test, with the current test the
>basis for the first tier, and a system that limits performance to driving
>experience, for example two years experience required to drive a 1600cc
>car. I'd also like to see the introduction of re-testing and the showing of
>accident video nasties during driving training (and possibly on TV). I
>don't believe that stiffer sentences by themselves will help - people
>(and I include myself in all this) need to be persuaded that their
>driving needs to be improved and need to be told how to do it. There are
>a thousand and one problems with these measures, but the current average
>driving ability must be improved somehow. 
>
>--
>Martin Croxford
>martin@praxis.co.uk

If its any comfort, your friend's answer would have meant an almost
certain fail, if he'd been asked about the appropriate use of lanes on
motorways in his test.

I think it would be useful to include motorway driving in the current
test, as is already done in lots of other countries.  I still remember
the EXTREME terror I felt when driving on a motorway for the first
time - and I'd deliberately got my husband to go with me on a quiet
evening, so that I'd have someone to talk me through things if I did
start doing anything dumb.

I'm not so sure if a "power-limit" would help.  When I passed my test,
we had a Morris Minor.  Four months later we sold it and got a Triumph
Vitesse (2L, 6 cylinder, loads of vrooming noises).  I'm sure the
Vitesse has made me a better driver.  The Minor was so easy to drive,
and so forgiving of mistakes, that it was easy just to mooch along
without paying proper attention.  I've never ever done that in the
Vitesse - it just won't let me.  

Alison
From: des@inmos.co.uk (David Shepherd)
Newsgroups: uk.transport
Subject: Re: Rear End Drivers !! What to do ???
Date: 22 Dec 92 12:04:31 GMT
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL8]

Jonathan Walker (jon_w@sn4401.oldham.gpsemi.com) wrote:
: What is a safe way to rid your rear end of a dangerous
: driver.

: The scenario.... cars in the middle lane safe distant apart 
: traveling 60 to 65mph I'm overtaking 70 mph safe distance
: from cars in front conditions cold, clear but dark (7.45am).

:  If a motorist (?) persists in driving 12 to 14ft away your 
:  rear bumper at 70 pushing you to 80mph in the outside lane with nowhere for
:  you to go , is it such a good idea to 'brake' giving them
:  a fright of their lives causing them to flash their lights
:  sound their horn, and in an obscure form of sign language
:  express what a foolish manoeuvre one has made.

:  Of course one must ignore the fact that 7 people died on the 
:  very same motorway the previous day, and the radio warnings to
:  drive with care."

: Or do I have carry on ignoring this motorists presence.

my technique is to basically ignore them and wait until there is a
suitable gap in the middle lane then pull into it slowly doing a full
MSM routine.

--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
david shepherd: des@inmos.co.uk                     tel: 0454-616616 x 625
                inmos ltd, 1000 aztec west, almondsbury, bristol, bs12 4sq
                1992: celebrate the quincentenary of columbus getting lost
From: michaelr@spider.co.uk (Michael S. A. Robb)
Newsgroups: uk.misc
Subject: Re: Record shops (LPs)
Date: 23 Dec 92 15:16:27 GMT
Distribution: uk
Organization: Spider Systems Limited, Edinburgh, UK.

In article <1992Dec23.095214.7523@memex.co.uk> scott@memex.co.uk (Scott Williamson) writes:
>Headline news today (Wednesday) is Trading Standards Office
>investigating how Sega and Nintendo can get away with charging more
>than 40 pounds for a game which costs less than 10 pounds to
>manufacture. Sounds like a bargain compared to CDs...
>
>In any case is this an unusually large mark-up for toys etc.?
>
>
>Scott Williamson		scott@memex.co.uk

Not really. The 10 pounds is the component price of the memory chips and plastic
casing to store the game. It does not take into account the amount of time and
money spent on developing the source code to go into the memory chips.

I used to work for a software house which developed games for the Nintendo and
SEGA systems. On average, a single game took 3-4 members of staff (programmer
artist/musician/test-player) a year to develop. These people have to be paid.
Then there was the usual office staff (directors/accountants/receptionists)
who also had to be paid.

With modern video games, there are other parties such as Nintendo and retailers 
distributors who also expect to get a share of the profits. Don't forget the VAT
VAT which also has to be paid. With any cartridge, Nintendo would get half the
profits, between a quarter and a third would go to the retailers/distributors
The remainder would go to the games company.

These prices are not unusual for toys or for any other item of manufacture. When
I shopped around for a new graphics board, my local computer store "quoted" a
price of 770 pounds. When I asked a mail-order company, they offered 525 pounds+
delivery. That's a 50% mark-up. When I was looking to buy some 4-ring folders in
Aberdeen, the local office supplier was charging 4 pounds/folder (a hole-punch
cost 28 pounds). The wholesale price was 50 pence/folder and 5 pounds for a hole
punch. That's a 800% mark-up! I even know of a computer store in Union Street
which charged 45 pounds for a box of 10 3.5" disks!!

-- Michael



-- 
| Michael S. A. Robb     | Tel: +44 31 554 9424  | "...The problem with 'bolt-on'
| Software Engineer      | Fax: +44 31 554 0649  |   software is making sure the
| Spider Systems Limited | E-mail:               |   bolts don't rust..."
| Edinburgh, EH6 5NG     | michaelr@spider.co.uk |             - Anonymous
From: cc@dcs.ed.ac.uk (Chris Cooke)
Newsgroups: uk.misc
Subject: Re: Liberties (was Re: Transport subsidies - Was: Car Parking)
Date: 21 Dec 92 12:46:18 GMT
	<29333@castle.ed.ac.uk> <1992Dec16.123433.10838@vax.oxford.ac.uk>
	<29735@castle.ed.ac.uk> <CC.92Dec18154836@arran.dcs.ed.ac.uk>
	<29767@castle.ed.ac.uk>
Organization: Department of Computer Science, University of Edinburgh, Scotland

In article <29767@castle.ed.ac.uk> fofp@castle.ed.ac.uk (M Holmes) writes:

   cc@dcs.ed.ac.uk (Chris Cooke) writes:

   >They certainly have my consent; I'm perfectly willing to pay may National
   >Insurance contributions, thank you very much.  If you're not, shame on you.

   I'm perfectly willing to pay to insure myself too. I'd just prefer it if
   the government allowed me to choose another purveyor of the insurance
   service.

You missed the point - the reason we pay National Insurance is to cover those
people who can't pay their own health insurance - the sort of people who
weren't properly covered by charity contributions before the NHS was
invented. 
--
	-- Chris. 	cc@dcs.ed.ac.uk   (on Janet, cc@uk.ac.ed.dcs)

		
Xref: sparky uk.misc:2058 uk.telecom:282
From: pr@cl.cam.ac.uk (Peter Robinson)
Newsgroups: uk.misc,uk.telecom
Subject: Re: Cable provider offering phone service
Keywords: cable phone
Date: 21 Dec 92 10:19:18 GMT
Distribution: uk
Organization: U of Cambridge Computer Lab, UK

Cambridge Cable, who are currently installing a television system in the Cambridge
area, have just started offering a telephone service.  They happened to wire our
part of town at about the same time that it came on stream and, keen to catch new
customers, they offered a month's trial of both services for #15.  This seemed like
less than the subsequent installation charge, so we took it up.

The telphone service is superficially indistinguishable from BT's.  The cable
company has a block of 10,000 numbers in the Cambridge STD code.  These can be
called from anywhere else in the usual way.  When you dial, the cable exchange
routes the call throught the cheapest carrier available, which may be BT or it may
be Mercury.  There is no Mercury button to push.

All the tariffs - line rental, local, trunk and international calls - are all
priced just below BT's rates, except off-peak calls to other numbers on the cable
exchange which are about half the price of the BT equivalent.  All calls are
charged to the nearest tenth of a second, which should trim a fraction more off the
costs.  I am still waiting for the first itemised bill which will show if the
system managed to pick up BT's special rate for trunk calls on Sunday afternoons
(probably not - the small print limits that to BT subscribers).

There are only a few minor disadvantages.  Monthly billing doesn't give as much
free credit.  They have no equivalent of the BT chargecard.  There is a curious
ticking every three seconds on the line.  They haven't quite got the hang of
running the service yet (they promised us one number but installed a different
one).

For the future, they are talking about ISDN and data services.

- Peter Robinson.

P.S.  Does anyone know why you still have to have a television licence even when you
only take programs off cable?  I thought that there had been a contrary ruling
in the case of satellite television.
From: snail@lsl.co.uk
Newsgroups: uk.misc
Subject: Re: Transport subsidies - Was: Car Parking
Date: 21 Dec 92 19:41:41 GMT
Distribution: uk
Organization: Laser-Scan Ltd., Cambridge

In article <PwsXVB35w165w@mantis.co.uk>, mathew@mantis.co.uk (mathew) writes:
> snail@lsl.co.uk writes:
>> In article <Ps4TVB21w165w@mantis.co.uk>, mathew@mantis.co.uk (mathew) writes:
>> > That's nothing -- I have to pay for all the roads I *don't* use.  I never u
>> > motorways, for example.
>> 
>> Funny that, so do I. So does everyone else who pays car tax, and buys petrol.
> 
> So you support the abolition of car and petrol taxes?  Excellent.
> 
>> Also funny that many of the records/tapes/CDs I own have tracks on them that
>> I don't listen to.
> 
> You *chose* to buy those albums.  I didn't choose to pay for the M25.

Nice mathew, neatly ignoring the other example of software libraries and
functions I don't use. I also have libraries I don't use. I didn't choose to
buy the libraries, but they were included in the cost.

I would be surprised if you never, ever use motorways, that must make some
journeys pretty hard, unless you do stick to small areas of the country to
do your socialising. Unfortunately for me, the group of people I know, move
around like dust from a stellar explosion. Drag really, having to travel
further all the time.

Also I didn't personally choose to build any of the roads either.
-- 
snail@lsl.co.uk      

"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless
 means to side with the powerful, not to be Neutral."
                                                     Quote by Freire.
                                                     Poster by OXFAM.
From: T.I.Morley@lut.ac.uk
Newsgroups: uk.misc
Subject: letting property
Summary: Request for help on tax/legal issues of letting property
Keywords: letting renting property tax law
Date: 21 Dec 92 14:04:53 GMT
Reply-To: T.I.Morley@lut.ac.uk (TI Morley)
Organization: Loughborough University, UK.

I am thinking about renting out a flat which I own in London.
I have been forced to move away to get a new job following redundancy.
It's not that I really want to become a landlord, but funnily enough
no one wants to buy the place at the moment!

Never having been in this position before I don't have much idea about 
the legal or tax position. Any information would be welcomed, including
where I should go for definitive answers on the tax position. I've been
in touch with the tax office. They sent me a leaflet that didn't say very
much!

In particular:

Do I have to pay income tax on the rental income?

If so can I deduct the cost of the mortgage interest that I am paying
from the income before working out the tax?

Can I deduct anything else?

Can I still get tax relief on the first 30,000 pounds of the mortgage?
(I know I can't if I buy another place, but assuming I live in rented
accomodation myself.)

Is it likely to affect the cost of my mortgage? I'm with the Abbey National
and I've heard suggestions that they charge more if the property is being
rented out rather than lived in by the mortgage holder.

Tim Morley (T.I.Morley@lut.ac.uk)
From: dam@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk (David Morning)
Newsgroups: uk.misc
Subject: Re: Merry Christmas
Date: 22 Dec 92 17:34:43 GMT
Distribution: uk
Organization: Glasgow University Computing Science Dept.

gdb15@grebe.cl.cam.ac.uk (Guy Barry) writes:

>Year's Day.  How did Scotland manage to end up with two days at both
>Christmas and New Year?

We need the 2 days at New Year to recover from the national hangover!

Dave

Bye all!!!

--
From: scott@memex.co.uk (Scott Williamson)
Newsgroups: uk.misc
Subject: Re: Record shops (LPs)
Date: 23 Dec 92 09:52:14 GMT
Distribution: uk
Organization: Memex Information Systems Ltd, East Kilbrde, Scotland

Headline news today (Wednesday) is Trading Standards Office
investigating how Sega and Nintendo can get away with charging more
than 40 pounds for a game which costs less than 10 pounds to
manufacture. Sounds like a bargain compared to CDs...

In any case is this an unusually large mark-up for toys etc.?


Scott Williamson		scott@memex.co.uk
Newsgroups: uk.misc
From: dave@dhcs.demon.co.uk (Dave Hodgkinson)
Subject: Re: Milton Keynes - was Re: NORTHAMPTON POL
Organization: IISC, dept of hackery.
Apparently-To: mail2news@news.demon.co.uk
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 10:03:59 +0000


In article <1gt3anINNan8@bnsgd245.bnr.co.uk> ianking@nnsgs52 (Ian King) writes:


   Dave Hodgkinson (dave@dhcs.demon.co.uk) wrote:

   : my #.02 :-)

   : Downsides: the local schools are dire. Babies will probably go to
   : school in Great Brickhill, or a secret location near Olney (30 head
   : village school).

   I dont know about the first/middle schools elsewhere but the ones in
   Olney are *excellent*. Your secret location is either Emberton or that
   other one (private) whose name escapes me but a friend of mine works there.

Not quite. One problem is that there is a one-year overlap between
this school and the middle school, so kids get to go to the last year
of one, and then on to the next.

I get the feeling that no.1 daughter is going to go to Dame Alice.

   The problem we have in Olney is the Secondary Education in MK. A lot of
   parents pay for their children to go to Bedford. Either that or move into
   Bedfordshire. I'm not prepared to do the latter as I like where I live
   thank you. (Actually if you work it out, it is slightly cheaper to stay
   put and pay the fees than move & its associated costs). 

Hmm, I 'll have to work that out. I'd be prepared to move to a smaller
house, if it was the right thing to do.

   I went to a secondary school in what is now MK. The standards are not the
   same anymore. I really dont like the idea of private education but there
   are no state schools of comparable standard in MK. 

Trouble is, in my wife's cirlce there are at least three current or
ex-secondary shool teachers (Ousedale was one school), and they are
all fiercely loyal to their schools, surprise. ("You don't want to
look at the league tales, etc.")

We'll see.

   Regards...
   .........Ian

Dave.


Dave Hodgkinson, Chief Wizard                       IISC +44 71 628 6960
S:10 I:17 W:8 D:14 C:13 Ch: 15   About to die: daveh@cix.compulink.co.uk
                  Direct, but my end can be flaky: dave@dhcs.demon.co.uk
This message brought to you by the most excellent Demon Internet Service
-- 
Dave Hodgkinson, Chief Wizard                       IISC +44 71 628 6960
S:10 I:17 W:8 D:14 C:13 Ch: 15   About to die: daveh@cix.compulink.co.uk
                  Direct, but my end can be flaky: dave@dhcs.demon.co.uk
This message brought to you by the most excellent Demon Internet Service
From: dhembrow@eoe.co.uk (David Hembrow)
Newsgroups: uk.misc
Subject: Re: Record shops (LPs)
Date: 21 Dec 92 11:30:36 GMT
Distribution: uk
Organization: EO Europe Limited, Cambridge, UK
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]

mathew (mathew@mantis.co.uk) wrote:
: dhembrow@eoe.co.uk (David Hembrow) writes:
: > Some of the more recent CDs which I have bought do sound quite acceptable,
: > this is despite the fact that my CD player is the same one I bought 5 years
: > ago which I was never really happy with from the beginning.
: > 
: > The best sounding vinyl LPs which I have do sound better than the CDs still
: > though I think.
: 
: Hardly surprising if you're using a 5 year old CD player.  CD player
: technology has improved a LOT in the last few years.
: 
: mathew
: -- 
: Lung cancer and arteriosclerosis.
: For people who like to smoke.

Mind you, I have modified that same old CD player somewhat. I'm still waiting
to hear one which sounds enough better to be worth spending lots of money
on it. So far, I'm dissappointed. Ok, so I've heard some supposedly good
machines such as the Naim, but I don't think the difference in sound
between my machine and that is exactly night and day. In fact, I didn't
honestly think there was anything to be gained. Two years ago I went out
with #500 burning a whole in my pocket to buy a Meridian 203 converter,
but didn't. I found there was more to be gained in upgrading my amps so
that's what I did instead.

I am interested in buying a better CD player, so long as it really is better
and so long as it isn't too hideously expensive. Until that time comes, I'll
carry on modifying and listening to what I've got.-- 
David Hembrow                   EO Europe Ltd.,
email:  dhembrow@eoe.co.uk      Abberley House, Granhams Road,
                                Great Shelford, Cambridge CB2 5LQ, England
From: fofp@castle.ed.ac.uk (M Holmes)
Newsgroups: uk.misc
Subject: Re: Liberties (was Re: Transport subsidies - Was: Car Parking)
Date: 21 Dec 92 12:05:29 GMT
Organization: Edinburgh University

cc@dcs.ed.ac.uk (Chris Cooke) writes:

>They certainly have my consent; I'm perfectly willing to pay may National
>Insurance contributions, thank you very much.  If you're not, shame on you.

I'm perfectly willing to pay to insure myself too. I'd just prefer it if
the government allowed me to choose another purveyor of the insurance service.

I have this strange idea that the government could govern, and the
insurance industry could run the insurance business. Still, given that
the government has just agreed to donate as much of our money as is
necessary to cover the insurance business's refusal to insure The City
against the IRA, I'm beginning to think that both institutions need a
drastic rethink.

There can't be enough competition in insurance if they can refuse
business. The most sensible solution would be for the insurers to
increase premiums in London. It shouldn't be up to the taxpayers to pay
the difference.

Surely even the folks here who defend taxation must figure that this is
a complete and utter waste of our money?

FoFP
Newsgroups: uk.misc