HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: hallam@zeus02.desy.de (Phill Hallam-Baker)
Subject: Re: degrees-grades
Reply-To: Hallam@zeus02.desy.de
Organization: Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron, Experiment ZEUS bei HERA
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 01:24:42 GMT

In article <A.Grant.33.726616422@ucs.cam.ac.uk>, A.Grant@ucs.cam.ac.uk (Alasdair
Grant) writes:

|>In article <1993Jan8.115936.19464@dcs.qmw.ac.uk> mmh@dcs.qmw.ac.uk (Matthew
|>Huntbach) writes:
|>>Degree classes are supposed to be standard over the country, so
|>>you'd expect a top-ranked place like Cambridge to award
|>>proportionately more firsts, while lower ranked places like the
|>>ex-polytechnics would aard fewer.
|>
|>But it's common knowledge that external examiners at ex-polys admit to
|>giving firsts for work that would only get an upper second at their own
|>universities. Not that the subjects offered at ex-polys have much relation
|>to those at major universities anyway.

At the other end of the scale courses that at Oxford give out 30% firsts dole
out roughly 5% firsts at other first rank Universities. In the Science and esp.
in Engineering the other Universities offer far tougher courses and are in
higher demand than at Oxford and Cambridge.

I tend to think though that the Oxford and Cambridge strategy of giving out
firsts to the top 30% is better. At that level there is little point in
attempting to differentiate between the best students.

Arround the time I was at Southampton the electronics course went from giving
out 5% firsts to 10% firsts, then 30% firsts in the space of three years. Mind
you it was harder to get on than any other and in big demand because you got to
build VLSI chips (O.K. LSI) in your first year. 

--

Phill Hallam-Baker
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: alla0008@student.tc.umn.edu (Graham Allan)
Subject: Re: U.K. --> N. American voltage transformers and plugs
Organization: University of Minnesota
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 15:50:28 GMT

In article <20240.2b4b4a15@ul.ie> mckeonj@ul.ie writes:
>In article <botfield.724967574@turtle1>, botfield@rtsg.mot.com (Derek A. Botfield) writes:
>> MDuPree@world.std.com (Micky DuPree) writes:
>> 
>>>A contact in the U.K. warned me that 240v --> 120v voltage transformers,
>>>such as one might use to run a North American appliance off of U.K. wall
>>>power, tend to "short out, smoulder, and catch fire."  Can anyone else
>>>share their experience with such converters?

>When bringing electrical apparatus from USA to Britain & Ireland,
>the best thing is .... DON'T!
>Too many problems: for a start, the necessary voltage converter
>/transformer needs to be twice as big as you thought, and will
>cost four times as much. Next the frequency is "wrong", 50 cycles
>instead of 60. Next, and most serious, apart from the plugs being
>wrong, you really must not attach USA wired equipment to "British"
>supply, because the live and neutral lines are reversed, and you
>may well finish with a live chassis at 220/240 volts AC - you may
>survive a 110 volt shock, but you may not survive a 220 volt one.
>Better to buy the native goods for your stay here.
>Besides, all the important stuff, TV, VCR, etc, don't work here
>anyway, the standards are all different. If you bring your laptop,
>expect to need a similar sized mains power pack lugging around.

I think this is a little overstated, much US equipment works without any
trouble in the UK - with low-powered devices such as computer or stereo
equipment there shouldn't be any problem. No well made voltage converter
which is operating within its stated capacity should burst into flames! I
took a US HP Deskjet 500 over to the UK about 18 months ago, since when
it has been operating continuously on an RS (Radio Spares, not Radio Shack!)
voltage converter with no trouble at all. With the absurd price difference
between the US and UK, it's a bit harsh to have to buy everything again at
UK prices!

By the way, it's worth checking with the manufacturer of your equipment,
as many items are internally switchable between 110/220 volts. Computer
PSU's for example, often have this ability.

Graham.

Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: gdb15@grebe.cl.cam.ac.uk (Guy Barry)
Subject: Re: Attn: Viewers of "Jeeves and Wooster"
Reply-To: gdb15@cl.cam.ac.uk
Organization: U of Cambridge Computer Lab, UK
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 20:53:52 GMT

In article <1993Jan10.223047.1@acfcluster.nyu.edu> marcusc@acfcluster.nyu.edu writes:
>A small curiosity.  I have just been watching Master piece theatre here in New
>York - which featured a production of a Bertie Wooster /Jeeves story.
>Stephen Fry, in an introductory monologue, presumably designed to give
>needed background info to the American market, describes what a gentleman's
>gentleman was.  He refers at one point to "mixing martinis" for the 
>gentleman.  This caused me a little thought.  Martinis are "mixed" in
>the US but not in Britain (in fact an american martini is what we would call a
>gin and it in UK). My question is this:  is this a slip on behalf of the
>American producers or were martinis mixed in Britain in the thirties. I 
>would be extremely grateful if someone could shed some light on this matter.
>Email response would be fine as I don't read this group that much.

In article <1993Jan11.185143.7501@netcom.com> ewadams@netcom.com (Ernest Adams) writes:
>Last night Masterpiece Theater ran another episode of "Jeeves and
>Wooster", which was prefaced by Steven Fry explaining what a "gentleman's
>personal gentleman" was. During his explanation, the sound dropped out
>for a moment on the line "...packing his <silence>," while describing
>Jeeves' duties.
>
>Was this accident or censorship? What could Fry have possibly said in
>that line which required censorship? Does anyone else know what the line
>was?

This programme seems to have generated an awfully large amount of
interest!  Perhaps Fry said "packing his Martini"...


--
Guy Barry, University of Cambridge | Phone: +44 (0)223 334757 
Computer Laboratory                | Fax: +44 (0)223 334678
New Museums Site, Pembroke Street  | JANET: Guy.Barry@uk.ac.cam.cl 
Cambridge CB2 3QG, England, UK     | Internet: Guy.Barry@cl.cam.ac.uk 
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: i6finn@aud2.aud.auc.dk
Subject: Linguistic expert = an Englishman !
Organization: Aalborg University Center, Denmark
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 14:05:05 GMT

Hello Englishman,

I'm sorry to bother you with this, but I need advice from an 
expert (= an Englishman). I am writing a report and have 
two questions:

1)  A section at the end is called a) "Appendix" or 
    b) Annex ?

2)  Is it called a) a "program" or b) a "programme"  ?
    (As in computer program/programme)

I would use 1-a and 2-a but a local "expert" says that in
English one would write 1-b and 2-b.
Maybe I am reading too few British papers !

Please E-mail and thanks in advance ...

Finn M. Jensen
Department of Building Technology and Structural Engineering
Aalborg University     :    Phone: +45 98 15 85 22, Ext. 6649
Sohngaardsholmsvej 57  :    Fax: +45 98 14 82 43
DK-9000 Aalborg        :    E-mail: i6finn@aud.auc.dk
Denmark, Europe       
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,alt.usage.english
From: eepjm@wombat.newcastle.edu.au (Peter Moylan)
Subject: Re: Back from the UK
Organization: University of Newcastle, AUSTRALIA
Date: Wed, 13 Jan 1993 00:03:07 GMT

The Australian usage of "quite" seems to be pretty much the same
as the American.  Until this discussion started, I hadn't been aware
that the English see it differently.

-- 
Peter Moylan                      eepjm@wombat.newcastle.edu.au
From: Trevor.Kirby@newcastle.ac.uk (Trevor Kirby)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: degrees-grades
Date: 11 Jan 93 14:40:54 GMT
Organization: Computing Laboratory, U of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK NE1 7RU.


In article <1993Jan11.110840.14227@osf.org>, david@postman.gr.osf.org (David George) writes:
>
>Thin end of the wedge, Trev.  Before you know it those jumped up Polytechnical
>Colleges will be booting out the external examiners and selling M.A.s to
>graddies and then where will we be ?
>
>David.

All working for the KGB. ? 

 Trev
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: Mike King
Subject: Re: Shetlands oil fiasco
Organization: Bell-Northern Research
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 16:46:55 GMT

In article <1993Jan11.122222.17802@infodev.cam.ac.uk> gdb15@grebe.cl.cam.ac.uk
(Guy Barry) writes:
>In article <C0ouoo.DJI@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk> dam@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk (David
Morning) writes:
>>yadallee@ersys.edmonton.ab.ca (Dave Shariff Yadallee) writes:
>>
>>>Is there ANY current information available about the Braer bungle?
>>
>>Of course there is, read a newspaper. 
>
>How do you know what's in the Canadian newspapers?



  OK, watch the BBC World Service News on your local CBC Newsworld Channel.
            Mike King.


>--
>Guy Barry, University of Cambridge | Phone: +44 (0)223 334757 
>Computer Laboratory                | Fax: +44 (0)223 334678
>New Museums Site, Pembroke Street  | JANET: Guy.Barry@uk.ac.cam.cl 
>Cambridge CB2 3QG, England, UK     | Internet: Guy.Barry@cl.cam.ac.uk 
>
From: ian@sun.com (Ian Griffin - NCN Reseller SE)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: American humo(u)r (was Re: Studying Me
Date: 11 Jan 1993 23:03:34 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Distribution: world
Reply-To: ian@sun.com
NNTP-Posting-Host: marmite.west.sun.com

In article 1170@ttinews.tti.com, jackson@soldev.tti.com (Dick Jackson) writes:
> Frankly, I like it here. The living is easy, and apart from the
> nearby quasi-random machine gun bursts it is very pleasant in So. Cal.

Do many others reading this in the USA hear gunfire from their homes?

We do (in the San Francisco Bay Area, about 7 miles north of Berkeley)
on at least one or two occasions a month, usually sometime between 
midnight and dawn.  

Is this something others have grown acclimatised to?

Do people in England feel a greater or lesser degree of personal
danger from, say random bombings in the High Street?

Ian.
---



Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: godfrey@vxdesy.desy.de
Subject: Re: "Market Pricing"
Organization: (DESY, Hamburg, Germany)
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 03:12:09 GMT

In article <1993Jan5.030701.10967@cc.uow.edu.au>, jlloyd@cc.uow.edu.au (Jonathan Lloyd) writes:
> The answer is folks:
> YES YOU ARE GETTING RIPPED OFF.
> 
I don't understand what there is to complain about - a sensible person
just exploits the system and orders everything from the US and Far East
(by phone and credit card) and continues to do so until the prices in the
UK become more reasonable.  Sometimes customs charge VAT and duty - it's
not much anyway - sometimes they don't.  Some US companies won't send to
addresses outside the US, so you just give them a friend's address and
s/he sends the stuff on.

Laurence
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,soc.culture.celtic
From: mcovingt@aisun3.ai.uga.edu (Michael Covington)
Subject: Re: British Flags and Chritmas Wishes
Organization: AI Programs, University of Georgia, Athens
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 06:15:13 GMT

In article <1992Dec24.214627.2202@news.clarkson.edu> walker@sun.soe.clarkson.edu (Graham Walker, 227 West Old Main,268-3847,) writes:

>> 	What does this tell you about Spanish fascists (red and black?)

>Nothing, since the Spanish Fascists adopted the colours of the popular
>anarcho-syndicalist movement in an attempt to gain more support.

[Sigh of relief]  Had me for a moment there.
The colours of the University of Georgia are red and black.
-- 
:-  Michael A. Covington     internet mcovingt@uga.cc.uga.edu :    *****
:-  Artificial Intelligence Programs       phone 706 542-0358 :  *********
:-  The University of Georgia                fax 706 542-0349 :   *  *  *
:-  Athens, Georgia 30602-7415 U.S.A.     amateur radio N4TMI :  ** *** **
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: dj@ekcolor.ssd.kodak.com (Dave Jones)
Subject: Re: Record shops (LPs)
Organization: Morituri Te Salutent, Inc.
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL7]
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 93 15:04:14 GMT

Aled Morris (aledm@grant.ncd.com) wrote:
> In article <C0I43v.5vL@world.std.com>, eac@world.std.com (Eric A Cottrell) writes:
> |> I seem to remember a commission reporting that cars are higher priced in
> |> the UK due to driving on the left. I can understand this in cars, but not
> |> in other goods.
> 
> Yes, it must cost the Japanese a fortune to convert their cars to right hand
> drive ;-)
> 
> Actually, I think the price difference can be accounted for by (a) the fact
> that companies such as GM Europe makes a profit, whereas in north America
> they run a $1,000 loss on each car sold, (b) the higher level of standard
> equipment in the UK, and (c) the ploy in the UK of subsidising heavily
> discounted fleet sales at the expense of the private purchaser.
>
Understandable given the high turnover in fleet sales compared to the 
average owner who hangs on to a car much longer.  But then again, the 
private car is so expensive compared to an average salary that hanging on is
the best tactic.
 
> Subjectively, I think UK sold cars are of a much higher quality than in the
> US too.  The Zeta engined Ford Escort sold in the UK is way, way better than
> the Escort sold in the US.
>
Hmm, are we talking about the same actual car?  Remember that the US Escort 
line is now based on the Mazda (323 ?).  Damn fine car.  We have a Mercury
Tracer (same car, slighly more deluxe) with added air conditioning that cost
us $11.3K.

> As for pricing, the UK MRP on the Escort LX 16v is about #9k?  The cheapest
> Escort in the US is $10k.  Thats without Air, Auto or any fancy options.

What options do you want?  The adjustable driver's seat is nice but not 
necessary, auto transmission runs about $800.  Stereo? Anyone who buys 
manufacturer audio is paying too much for too little.  A tach is standard 
on the Tracer.

> To get a comparable car to the UK one will take you closer to $15k.  Hmmm...
> where's the difference?
> 
> Aled
> 
> p.s. the above numbers are rough guestimates.
> 
> aledm@ncd.com    Network Computing Devices Inc.
> (415)694 4543    350 North Bernardo Avenue, Mountain View, CA 94043

Of course, you may have to pay more in California.

--
||------------------------------------------------------------------------
||Dave Jones (dj@ekcolor.ssd.kodak.com)|Eastman Kodak Co. Rochester, NY  |
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: hiscrp@nuscc.nus.sg (C R Pennell)
Subject: Re: Channel Islands/Nazis
Organization: National University of Singapore
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL4
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 14:27:29 GMT

morna@dcs.ed.ac.uk (Morna J Findlay) writes:
: 
: I read that the CI authorities gave the names and addresses of five
: Jewish women, three of whom died in Auschwitz to the Germans when
: asked. I don't know what happened to the other two women.
: 
: Ther general drift of the stories has been the suggestion that the
: British would have behaved no better than say, the French, if the
: Germans had invaded, which counteracts the generally held belief that we
: would have.

This fits in with the story given by Anthony Faramus (JOURNEY INTO
DARKNESS, Grafton 1990). Faramus was a working-class Jersey lad, bit of a
wide boy, who was shafted by the local officials who used German aid to
pay back old scores, in effect. He ended up in Mauthausen, and only just
survived. Writes well, too.	

I don't believe everyone - generally - really deep down believes the
British would have behaved any better. We all know too much about the	
way big an petty officials NOW screw up people in e.g. SS offices. What's
said in public is different.

BTW anyone remmber how the Post Office refused to issue a stamp to commemorate	
the liberation of the only part of Britainever occupied by the Germans?

Richard.
From: ray@philmtl.philips.ca (Ray Dunn)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Silly Bible semi-pedantry [was: Re: Happy Christmas!]
Date: 7 Jan 93 05:18:14 GMT
Organization: Not Philips.

In refd article, mmh@dcs.qmw.ac.uk (Matthew Huntbach) writes:
>It was difficult not to write a letter of this sort when
>yesterday someone had one printed saying how wonderful the
>Labour Party was with all its new radical commitment to regional
>devolution, an elected second chamber, a bill of rights etc. etc.
>basically all the things the Liberal Party has been committed
>to for forty years.

I'm intrigued to know whether your response was one of condemning the Labour
Party for having such stupid ideas, or castigating the Liberal Party for
political ineptitude at being unable to make any headway for forty years
even with such a desirable platform....
-- 
Ray Dunn at home        |  Beaconsfield, Quebec  |  Phone: (514) 630 3749
ray@philmtl.philips.ca  |  ray@cam.org           |  uunet!sobeco!philmtl!ray
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: agc@bmdhh286.bnr.ca (Alan Carter)
Subject: Re: Truly English?
Organization: BNR-Europe-Limited, Maidenhead, England
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 13:08:41 GMT

In article <1993Jan8.120809.19731@dcs.qmw.ac.uk>. mmh@dcs.qmw.ac.uk (Matthew Huntbach) writes:
|>                                            ...However, the use
|> of plural forms for the first person singular can be a feature
|> of working class speech, and I would guess it was really
|> another case of an emotional Mrs.T slipping into her native
|> Lincolnshire.

Oh, give us a break Matthew! Seriously, I'd assumed that she'd got into
the habit of saying 'we' rather than 'I' in order to defend the fiction
of Cabinet Government, and the useage had become so automatic and
meaningless to her that she forgot that it was OK to admit that she
herself, rather that in concert with her toadies and yes men, had
become a grandmother. And all the more telling for it.

   Alan

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Maidenhead itself is too snobby to be pleasant. It is the haunt of the
   river swell and his overdressed female companion. It is the town of showy
   hotels, patronized chiefly by dudes and ballet girls. 

   Three Men In A Boat, Jerome K. Jerome, 1889
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From: aoaass@registry.adelaide.edu.au
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: HELP Overseas Students
Date: 7 Jan 93 17:50:40 ACST
Organization: Office of the Registry, University of Adelaide
NNTP-Posting-Host: admin.registry.adelaide.edu.au

I am working in the area of undergraduate admission at the University of
Adelaide in the state of South Australia. I want to tap into the British experience with dealing with
applicants for University courses who possess overseas secondary
qualifications. 
Two issues we have to deal with is the question of their eligibility to apply
and how we rank them in relation to students who have completed their secondary
education in our state. The first issue is easy to deal with because we have
enough local and international information to allow us to determine
eligibility. What we do is use British Council material to see how they might
equate to A - levels. If it is of A level standard they are eligible and if
it's not they are not eligible.Once  eligible we need to determine how they
rank against our local students by alloocating them a score which relates to
our final year of secondary education. The problem is that we have no
equivalence tables that relates x results/scores from Poland, Canada or India
to y score in South Australia. This means we often have to resort to guesses
based on our instincts without any clear guidelines. What I want to know is how
do British institutions deal with such candidates?? How do they rank them
against local students who have successfully completed their A - levels?? Any
help would be appreciated.
Ross Karavis - Admissions; Uni of Adelaide
From: mossop@pangea.Stanford.EDU (Antony Mossop)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Record shops (LPs)
Date: 7 Jan 1993 23:58:24 GMT
Organization: Stanford Univ. Earth Sciences
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: pangea.stanford.edu

In article <1ic3f3INNetp@grapevine.EBay.Sun.COM> martin.baines@uk.sun.com writes:
>In article 22637@rdg.dec.com, cockburn@edieng.enet.dec.com (Craig Cockburn) writes:
>
>....................................
>
>Now I am *not* arguing that many UK prices are not a lot more
>than elsewhere in the work, merely that a lot more of the
>price difference is due to government policy than people
>realise. Of course, this still doesn't explain why UK
>manufactured CDs cost so much more than US ones, except
>the fact that they sell most they can make at those prices.
>
>>Maybe a decent set of prices in the UK is just what we need to get the
>>economy moving again.
>
>Great idea! Now what government services shall we cut to
>make up for the loss in duty and VAT revenue?....
>
>Martin

How about the service to people with high incomes that let them pay
less tax so that revenue had to be made from the pushed up VAT?


Tony Mossop, geophysics, Stanford
>
>---
>"You might say that, but I couldn't possibly comment"
>
>Martin Baines, Sales Support Manager,
>Sun Microsystems Ltd, 306 Science Park, Cambridge, CB4 4WG, UK
>Phone: +44 223 420421                 Fax: +44 223 420257
>JANET:     Martin.Baines@uk.co.sun    Other UK:  Martin.Baines@sun.co.uk
>Internet:  Martin.Baines@UK.sun.com
>X.400:     g=martin s=baines prmd=sunir admd=mci c=us
>


Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,soc.culture.celtic
From: ahall@library1.library.carleton.ca (Alison Hall)
Subject: Re: Shetlands oil fiasco
Organization: Carleton University
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 18:56:59 GMT

>>>Is there ANY current information available about the Braer bungle?
>>
>>Of course there is, read a newspaper. 
>
>How do you know what's in the Canadian newspapers?

By reading them. There's plenty of news about the Shetland oil thing in
the Globe and Mail
From: mmh@dcs.qmw.ac.uk (Matthew Huntbach)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Silly Bible semi-pedantry [was: Re: Happy Christmas!]
Date: 7 Jan 93 10:35:45 GMT
Organization: Computer Science Dept, QMW, University of London, UK.

In article <1993Jan7.051814.10544@philmtl.philips.ca> ray@philmtl.philips.ca (Ray Dunn) writes:
>In refd article, mmh@dcs.qmw.ac.uk (Matthew Huntbach) writes:
>>It was difficult not to write a letter of this sort when
>>yesterday someone had one printed saying how wonderful the
>>Labour Party was with all its new radical commitment to regional
>>devolution, an elected second chamber, a bill of rights etc. etc.
>>basically all the things the Liberal Party has been committed
>>to for forty years.
>
>I'm intrigued to know whether your response was one of condemning the Labour
>Party for having such stupid ideas, or castigating the Liberal Party for
>political ineptitude at being unable to make any headway for forty years
>even with such a desirable platform....

Most people don't sit down, analyse the policy of each
political party, and vote accordingly. If this were the case,
the Liberals would win every time. In fact, given the bias of
British politics towards the two party system and the lack of
funding of the Liberals (the Conservatives are funded by big
business, Labour is funded by the Trade Unions, the Liberals
are funded by jumble sales - I am not joking here), the
Liberals have done a remarkable job in surviving at all (look
at the dismal fate of third parties in the USA for comparison).

Why don't you go away and fight an election self-funded and
single-handed against a well-oiled party machine funded by
business, with paid employees doing the party work, and the press on
their side as well, and having narrowly failed to win, criticise yourself
for "ineptitude"?

Matthew Huntbach
From: tgg@otter.hpl.hp.com (Tom Gardner)
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 19:04:48 GMT
Subject: Re: British Imperial Weights and Measures
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, Bristol, UK.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british

In soc.culture.british, tgg@otter.hpl.hp.com (Tom Gardner) writes:
> |  -- or do you have to subtract 32 first?  Or is it afterwards?  I never
> |     could remember.
> Simple. Don't bother, use this mechanism:
> 	Celcius to Fahrenheit: subtract 40, *9/5, add 40
> 	Fahrenheit to Celcius: subtract 40, *5/9, add 40
> notice the similarity.
> This works because -40F = -40C.

   Dong
     ^
     |
the sound of a clanger being dropped. Interchange "add" and "subtract" to 
get the real algorithm!

Newsgroups: soc.culture.british