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Post by devil-may-care on May 11, 2011 13:57:43 GMT
That just seems so wrong. If you want the smell of play-doh, buy some. I'm sure it's a lot cheaper! ;D
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Post by Wyvern on May 13, 2011 10:22:05 GMT
I want the Ninjabread Men cookie cutters now  |
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Post by dit on Jun 9, 2011 23:39:21 GMT
James has posted a very interesting comment this evening below last week's column. I would normally just post the link, but there will probably be another column in the morning, this comment is on page 2 and I'm not sure it would link properly, so for once I'll quote him in full. It's in response to a comment about the bomb defusing sequence in Man Lab:
I'm glad you liked it at least. I couldn't do it with a real bomb, because I might have been blown up, which would have pleased some people but generated a lot of tedious paperwork.
But my pretend polystyrene bomb did have a small 'banger' charge in it which was just enough to send up a light shower of cow-pooh and perfume. It would have gone off if I'd failed to freeze the fuse. It went off at the end because I didn't known about the Zeus booby-trap. That was a bigger explosion triggered remotely by our bomb experts when they saw that I had made the classic and fatal mistake. I wasn't expecting that. So it was as 'real' as we could make it.On a more sober note, the process of jamming and removing the Type 17 fuse was worked out over some time by two-man teams, one of whom would work on the bomb while the other communicated with him from a distance on an intercom. That way, if the bomb went off the knowledge of what had been done up to that point would not be lost. Every stage of the carefully recorded complete process had therefore cost the life of someone inconceivably brave.The Zeus booby trap was only discovered when one jammed, and an unwitting bomb disposal bloke knocked it out with a cold chisel. I like to think he retired after that.
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Post by xjsarah on Jun 10, 2011 11:53:52 GMT
He also posted a comment about diesel/electric locomotives, on Monday. It was in response to someone saying that some diesel trains use the diesel to produce the electricity that actually powers the train.
That's usually the case, although some locomotives are diesel/hydraulic (Western, Hymek), in which the IC engine produces hydraulic pressure to drive the wheels, and some smaller locos (Railcars, class 08 shunter) are diesel/mechanical, and use a conventional gearbox like a car's.
Strictly, the powerplant is diesel; the electric motors/hydraulic system/gearbox is the transmission. Diesel/electric has generally been favoured because the electric motors have the right characteristics for starting a heavy train - ie max torque from effectively zero rpm, no need for complex clutches, and so on.
The diesel/electric approach also made sense for Britain, because we were a bit tardy about electrification. Ideally the electricity is produced remotely, not in the loco. The London Underground and the Southern Region showed us the way.
Sorry to be boring.
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Post by Maid of Astolat on Jun 10, 2011 17:00:39 GMT
And I've been naughty again!!
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Post by dit on Jun 16, 2011 23:38:53 GMT
Don't get excited, there isn't a new one! (or at least there wasn't late Thursday night)
But I do want to report that there are 843, yes you read it correctly, 843 comments underneath the old one. Are they trying to create a record?
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Post by xjsarah on Jun 17, 2011 1:38:19 GMT
Probably! ;D
Mind you, it's taken a fortnight to rack up all those comments. No new article was posted last week, so people simply continued to post comments on the previous one.
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Post by lindenchase on Jun 17, 2011 7:29:47 GMT
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Post by dit on Jun 17, 2011 10:44:43 GMT
Well, that's a relief! I just hope the 'commenters' don't try for another record with this one! I get fed up after a while and give up reading.
I know most of the comments are intended to be light entertainment, but some of those about James not providing a new column have been a bit sharp. If they actually had any awareness of him in a wider context, perhaps they would be aware that he's been working on four different programmes recently, apparently simultaneously, so probably hasn't had a great deal of time for sitting down in front of the computer keyboard!
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Post by jacqui on Jun 17, 2011 13:10:03 GMT
Agree 100% Dit  He knew how busy he was going to be so did the wise thing and took a sabbatical; rather than try and fit everything in and end up writing utter cods-wallop ;D |
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Post by aeromanda on Jun 17, 2011 16:07:21 GMT
Although I miss reading new stuff from James I am kind of enjoying reading his older stuff. As my James addiction is somewhat "newer" I haven't had the chance to read all of his old columns.
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Post by amie8 on Jun 17, 2011 23:10:12 GMT
I first "met" James through his writing in the Telegraph way back when he started. My late stepfather was a DT reader and he used to save me bits of the Saturday paper, including the motoring section. James's stuff used to make him chortle. It was a few more years before I made the connection between the writer and the Top Gear presenter.
I assume most of the 843 comments are by the same four or five people?
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Post by Maid of Astolat on Jun 19, 2011 8:21:54 GMT
There are obviously, intelligent and knowledgeable people amongst those few but why on earth do they spend their time blanket-bombing a motoring article's comments section? It beats me! I'm genuinely intrigued, as they don't seem particularly interested in their host or what he has written.
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Post by jacqui on Jun 19, 2011 13:20:49 GMT
Some people thrive on these "comment" sections, get a buzz from it. It was bound to happen when they changed the way the comments were handled/run. Ignore them... most people do!
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heymysock
Mayhemer
We've got bed cats.
Posts: 73
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Post by heymysock on Jun 19, 2011 16:51:05 GMT
The comments seem to have turned into a chat room for the same 5 or so people. It's nice that they've found a place to connect to like-minded individuals, I guess. Everyone should find such a place.
Its just that it's no longer a place for discussion with anyone BUT those same 5 or so people. I seem to remember it was a bit more inclusive before.
Oh well. These things happen when the rules change.
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Post by dit on Jun 19, 2011 17:56:44 GMT
I occasionally fling a comment in - when it's relevant/appropriate/amusing (or at least I hope so!). I think it's a shame that those of us who like to do just that have their comments submerged in the chat-room banter of the 'regulars'. I wonder if they realise how badly they are thought of, and how off-putting they make it for those who genuinely want to respond ?
I wouldn't mind so much if their comments were related to anything that had been written or in response to others' comments about the column, but that's so rare nowadays. In some ways I would like to put my views up there to see if a groundswell of support develops, but I don't think I'm ready to face the inevitable invective, under the guise of witticism, that I'm sure it would provoke from the 'chatterers'.
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Post by jacqui on Jun 19, 2011 19:06:45 GMT
You're right HMS everyone should have a place, however there is a time and place for this sort of meaningless point scoring (which it is the majority of the time) and frankly the DT comments isn't the place.
IMHO ;D
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heymysock
Mayhemer
We've got bed cats.
Posts: 73
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Post by heymysock on Jun 19, 2011 20:02:01 GMT
I agree! They need a forum like this one, really.
Out of boredom, last week I figured out that 5 people created 85% of the posts. And most of those posts were 3 people.
The comments, IMHO, would be far more interesting with more people. But it doesn't look like it'll stop anytime soon. Not until Roastbeef finds another comment section to haunt.
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Post by amie8 on Jun 19, 2011 21:37:24 GMT
No. They think people who post on forums (including this one) are losers. And if they posted on a private forum, they wouldn't be able to jump up and down, waving and shouting "James! Over here James!"
I'm not bitter or anything...
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heymysock
Mayhemer
We've got bed cats.
Posts: 73
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Post by heymysock on Jun 19, 2011 23:26:16 GMT
Whether they like it or not, they've created a version of this over there. Just the location is different.
If we're losers over here, they are just a different side of the same coin over there.
It's a shame really, they might like it here.
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Post by lew on Jun 20, 2011 9:13:21 GMT
They maybe members on here anyway ;D can't say I like it much, too much of how clever am I, ain't I James.  blah, and I'd hate to be told off, much better to be bad on here ;D |
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Post by dit on Jun 20, 2011 9:43:43 GMT
It's possible they are members, in fact I think one of the more recent commenters is, and I'm sorry if she's offended by what's being said on here. But really, the situation has got a bit out of control. Other columnists often get many comments, but the majority tend to be on-topic. It's the off-topic nature of 95% of the comments below James' column that winds me up!
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Post by jacqui on Jun 20, 2011 12:17:51 GMT
And if they posted on a private forum, they wouldn't be able to jump up and down, waving and shouting "James! Over here James!" You have just written, what I always think about the majority of those posts, glad its not just me |
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Post by Maid of Astolat on Jun 20, 2011 16:54:58 GMT
"Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world..."
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heymysock
Mayhemer
We've got bed cats.
Posts: 73
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Post by heymysock on Jun 20, 2011 17:08:46 GMT
They maybe members on here anyway ;D can't say I like it much, too much of how clever am I, ain't I James. blah, and I'd hate to be told off, much better to be bad on here ;D The more the merrier, as they say. ;D |
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Post by crumbs on Jun 20, 2011 18:24:26 GMT
Tis a shame. I seem to recall the comments section used to be quite fun to read. Even I posted a couple of times. Certainly wouldn't bother now even if I knew how.
They are a bit of a clique aren't they?
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Post by jacqui on Jun 20, 2011 21:02:00 GMT
Agreed Crumbs on both points ;D
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Post by amie8 on Jun 20, 2011 22:43:04 GMT
"Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world..." Present company excepted, of course. I know Maid of Astolat is a veteran of the DT comments section. I used to post occasionally, under a different name and still do in other sections of the paper, because the world is a better place for knowing my views on beer, roundabouts and television programmes. Really, it is. |
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Post by ambergris on Jun 24, 2011 13:13:42 GMT
I post on the DT column too, under a different name, although I've only been dipping in two or three times a week. The sheer volume of comments can be a bit overwhelming, I agree, but personally I don't have a problem with any of the chatterers themselves. From what they say, I think they're all genuine admirers of James and his work, and they usually give me something interesting to research or think about, on top of the stuff that James himself has said. What really steams me up is the trolls who come on and post horrible personal insults.  But I suppose a troll's whole purpose is to get people angry and then laugh at them for it, so it's best just to take a deep breath and count to ten. |
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heymysock
Mayhemer
We've got bed cats.
Posts: 73
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Post by heymysock on Jun 24, 2011 14:57:32 GMT
What really steams me up is the trolls who come on and post horrible personal insults. But I suppose a troll's whole purpose is to get people angry and then laugh at them for it, so it's best just to take a deep breath and count to ten. Another web forum that I frequent has what they call the 'Coke Rule.' If you read a post that gets you angry, walk away, have yourself a nice cold coke, and when you feel calmer come back and post. It really works! It keeps you from posting something you might regret. |
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He knew how busy he was going to be so did the wise thing and took a sabbatical; rather than try and fit everything in and end up writing utter cods-wallop ;D
I love a man who can handle a gun 
blah, and I'd hate to be told off, much better to be bad on here ;D
But I suppose a troll's whole purpose is to get people angry and then laugh at them for it, so it's best just to take a deep breath and count to ten.